F0%       ^OKALIFOfcfc, 

^V**.     &*     s~^  V- 

^- 

^Aavaan-^ 


* 

i — n^ 


CONTRIBUTIONS 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY 


CONNECTICUT; 


PREPARED 


tte  gtwtfott  <rf  tto  ®tmxl 


COMMEMORATE  THE  COMPLETION  OF 


ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  TEARS 


SINCE  ITS  FIRST  ANNUAL  ASSEMBLY. 


NEW   HAVEN:. 
PUBLISHED    BY    WILLIAM    L.    KINGSLEY. 

J.     H.     BE  SHAM,     PHI  N- TEH. 
1861. 


BtacK 
fcnnex 


A  BRIEF  statement  seems  necessary  by  way  of  introduction 
to  the  somewhat  miscellaneous  compilation  in  the  volume 
now  offered  to  the  public. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  of  New  Haven 
West,  in  December,  1857,  it  was  suggested  by  Rev.  E.  W. 
Robinson,  then  pastor  of  the  church  in  Bethany,  that  the  hun- 
dred-and-fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  General  Association  of 
Connecticut  ought  not  to  pass  without  some  special  commem- 
oration. The  suggestion  was  favorably  received  ;  and  the  as- 
sembling of  the  General  Association  in  1859,  (the  first  Gener- 
al Association  having  been  convened  in  1709,)  was  fixed  upon 
as  the  best  time  for  the  purpose.  A  circular  to  the  several  As- 
sociations was  issued,  proposing  certain  arrangements,  which, 
if  acceptable,  might  be  ratified  by  the  General  Association 
next  to  be  convened. 

The  General  Association  for  1858  was  to  be  held  at  Nor- 
wich ;  and  by  the  rule  then  in  force,  the  meeting  for  the  next 
year  would  have  fallen  to  the  Windham  Association.  But  no 
place  in  the  County  of  Windham  seemed  large  enough  for  the 
accommodation  of  so  great  a  concourse  as  might  be  expected 
to  attend  upon  the  proposed  commemoration.  The  good  peo- 
ple of  Norwich,  it  was  found,  were  ready  to  accept  an  arrange- 
ment by  which  the  General  Association  for  1859  should  have 
the  benefit  of  their  large  and  generous  hospitality ;  and,  by 
general  consent,  the  meeting  for  1858  was  regularly  transferred 
to  Danielsonville,  in  West  Killingly. 

Accordingly,  the  proposal  for  a  commemoration  came,  in 
due  form,  before  the  General  Association  convened  at  Daniel- 
sonville on  the  third  Tuesday  in  June,  1858.  Overtures  on 
the  subject  from  New  Haven  West,  Litchfield  South  and  other 


*  *      *  rv'^  O^»      ^ 

20±o  •: 


iv  Prefice. 

Associations,  were  referred  to  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Learned,  W.  R. 
Long,  Jason  Atwater,  L.  H.  Barber  and  Orson  Cowles.  On 
the  report  of  that  Committee,  it  was  resolved — 

1.  That  the  hundred-and-fiftieth  anniversary  of  this  Associ- 
ation be  celebrated  at  its  next  annual  meeting  to  be  held  in  the 
city  of  Norwich  in  June,  1859. 

2.  That  the  whole  of  Thursday,  if  possible,  be  devoted  to 
this  subject ;  the  forenoon  being  occupied  with  a  historical  dis- 
course by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bacon,  or,   in  case  of  his  failure,  by 
the  Rev.  David  L.  Parmelee,  and  the  afternoon  with  addresses 
by  those  who  have  been  previously  secured  for  this  pu-pose. 

4.  That  Rev.  J.  P.  Gulliver,  Rev.  Dr.  Bond,  Rev.  H.  P. 
Arms,  Rev.  R.  P.  Stanton,  N.  A.  Fisher,  M.  D.,  George  Coit, 
Esq.,  Lewis  Hyde,  Esq.,  and  Benjamin  Durfee,  Esq.,  be  a 
Central  Committee  to  procure  speakers  and  make  all  necessary 
arrangements  for  said  celebration. 

4.  That  Rev.  E.  W.  Robinson,  Rev.  W.  H.  Moore,  and  Rev. 
M.  N.  Morris  be  authorized  to  collect  such  facts  and  statistics 
as  they  deem  desirable  for  the  purposes  of  this  celebration,  and 
prepare  them  for  presentation  at  that  time,  and  for  subsequent 
publication,  if  deemed  expedient  by  the  General  Association. 

5.  That  the  Rev.  Messrs.  S.  H.  Allen,  Noah  Porter,  D.  D., 
A.  C.  Washburn,  L.  B.  Rockwood,  S.  W.  S.  Dutton,  D.   D., 
A.  C.  Pierce,  A.  McEwen,  D.   D.,   S.  J.   M.  IMerwin,   R.   C. 
Learned,  J.  Eld  ridge,  D.  D.,  D.   L.   Parmelee,   Isaac   Parsons 
and  Merrick  Knight,  be  appointed  to  assist  the  last  named 
Committee  in  the  collections  proposed  within  the  limits  of 
their  several  Associations. 

In  conformity  with  the  foregoing  arrangements,  the  hundred- 
and-fiftieth  annual  assembly  of  the  General  Association  was 
held  at  the  Broadway  Church,  in  the  city  of  Norwich,  on  the 
third  Tuesday  (21)  in  June,  1859.  The  first  two  days  of  the 
session  were  occupied  with  the  routine  of  business.  On 
Wednesday,  "  Rev.  E.  W.  Robinson  presented  the  report  of 
the  Committee,  appointed  at  the  last  meeting,  on  facts  and 
statistics  with  reference  to  the  celebration  of  the  hundred-and- 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Association, — which  was  read  and 


Preface.  v 

referred  to  a  committee  consisting  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Jonathan 
Brace,  D.  D.,  and  D.  S.  Brainerd."  In  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day,  "  the  following  report,  presented  by  Rev.  Dr.  Brace, 
was  accepted  and  adopted  : — 

"  The  committee  to  whom  were  referred  the  collections  of  the 
Committee  on  Facts  and  Statistics,  to  report  what  disposition 
should  be  made  of  the  same,  and  of  the  historical  discourse  for  the 
celebration ;  also  to  nominate  a  committee  of  publication,  and  pre- 
sent plans  and  estimates  for  accomplishing  the  work  ;  report — 

That  they  recommend  the  putting  of  these  collections  and  the 
historical  discourse  into  a  pamphlet,  or  a  bound  volume  to  those 
who  prefer  it,  and  nominate  as  a  committee  of  publication  and  to 
complete  the  collections,  Rev.  Messrs.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.,  8.  W- 
S.  Button,  D.  D.,  and  E.  W.  Robinson ; — and,  since  the  cost  of 
publishing  the  same  cannot  now  be  correctly  estimated,  that  this 
matter  be  left  with  the  publishing  committee,  in  the  hope  that  they 
will  be  able  to  devise  some  method  of  publication  by  which  the 
sales  of  the  work  may  defray  the  expense." 

On  Thursday,  after  a  few  items  of  business,  the  entire  day 
•was  devoted  to  the  appointed  celebration.  The  proceedings 
are  recorded  on  the  Minutes  of  the  General  Association,  as  fol- 
lows : 

•  "  The  ordinary  business  of  the  annual  meeting  having  now  been 
finished,  the  exercises  connected  with  the  celebration  of  the  one 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  General  Association  were 
opened,  under  the  direction  of  the  committee  of  arrangements,  by 
the  reading  of  extracts  from  historical  papers  prepared  for  the  oc- 
casion. 

Rev.  E.  W.  Robinson  read  a  list  of  the  half-century  ministers  of 
Connecticut  from  the  beginning. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Moore  read  a  paper,  prepared  by  Rev.  Henry  Jones, 
on  the  Relation  of  the  rise  and  growth  of  other  denominations  in 
this  State  to  Congregationalism. 

At  10  o'clock,  after  singing,  and  prayer  by  Rev.  David  Smith, 
D.  D.,  a  historical  discourse  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Leonard  Bacon, 
D.  D. 

After  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hawes,  a  recess  was  taken  till  half-past 
2  o'clock,  P.  M. 

Thursday  afternoon,  ha]fpast  2  o'clock. — The  session  was  opened 
with  singing.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Calhoun. 


vi  Preface. 

Voted,  That  each  speaker  this  afternoon  and  evening  be  limited 
to  twenty  minutes  ;  and  that  the  Moderator  be  requested  to  give 
notice,  when  necessary,  of  the  expiration  of  the  allotted  time. 

Rev.  Abel  McEwen,  D.  D.,  read  a  paper  on  Congregationalists 
in  their  relations  to  religious  sects  characterized  by  error,  fanati- 
cism, or  disorder  ;  or  the  Isms  of  Connecticut. 

Prof.  E.  A.  Lawrence,  D.  D.,  made  an  address  on  the  Principles 
of  our  Fathers  historically  considered  ;  Rev.  T.  D.  Woolsey,  D.  D., 
on  the  Catholicity  of  true  Congregationalism ;  and  Rev.  Joel 
Hawes,  D.  D.,  on  the  First  Church  formed  in  the  State. 

A  few  stanzas  of  a  hymn  were  sung. 

Rev.  T.  M.  Post,  D.  D.,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  then  spoke  on  the 
Mission  of  Congregationalism  in  the  West ;  and  Rev.  E.  P.  Bar- 
rows, D.  D.,  of  Andover,  Mass.,  on  Congregationalism  as  in  har- 
mony with  the  Scriptural  idea  of  Christian  Union. 

Rev.  John  Waddington,  of  Southwark,  London,  being  present, 
and  specially  invited  by  the  Moderator,  addressed  the  audience 
briefly,  and  very  acceptably,  with  reference  to  the  interests  of  Con- 
gregationalism in  the  Old  and  the  New  World. 

He  was  followed  by  Rev.  A.  L.  Chapin,  D.  D.,  President  of  Be- 
loit  College,  whose  subject  was,  Connecticut  Puritans  in  the  West. 

After  the  doxology  and  the  benediction,  a  recess  was  taken  till 
half-past  seven  in  the  evening. 

Thursday  evening,  half-past  7  o'clock. — The  session  was  opened 
with  singing.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  George  Bnshnell. 

Rev.  E.  W.  Robinson  read  a  paper  relative  to  the  First  Meeting 
of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  Missions  at  the  house  of  Noah  Porter,  D.  D.,  in 
Farmington, — prepared  by  Dr.  Porter.  Rev.  S.  W.  S.  Dutton,  D. 
D.,  addressed  the  audience  upon  the  safety  and  wisdom  of  entire 
religious  liberty,  as  illustrated  by  our  history ;  Rev.  Joseph  El- 
dridge,  D.  D.,  upon  Consociated  Congregationalism ;  Rev.  Samuel 
Wolcott,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  upon  the  Lessons  of  our  day  as  sug- 
gested by  the  leading  aim  of  our  fathers ;  Rev.  Joseph  P.  Thomp- 
son, D.  D.,  of  New  York  City,  upon  the  Congregational  Polity  as 
adapted  to  the  highest  development  of  the  individual  Christian,  in 
harmony  with  the  practical  union  of  all  Christians  in  the  faith  and 
the  work  of  Christ ;  and  Rev.  William  I.  Budington,  D.  D.,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  upon  the  Mission  of  our  Churches  as  defined  by 
our  history. 

The  promiscuous  audience  convened  to  listen  to  the  public  ad- 
dresses was  dismissed  after  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  by  the  benedic- 
tion. It  was  then  Resolved,  That,  in  view  of  that  inheritance 


Preface.  vii 

which  we  have  received  from  our  fathers, — the  principles  of  which 
have  been  so  fully  set  before  us  on  this  occasion, — this  Association 
at  this  closing  hour  feel  called  upon  not  only  unitedly  to  express 
our  deepest  gratitude  to  God  for  the  same,  but  also  to  do  all  in  our 
power  to  transmit  it  to  the  latest  time. 

Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  the  General  Association  be  presented 
to  Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.,  for  the  clear  and  most  important 
history  contained  in  the  able  discourse  pronounced  by  him  to-day, 
and  that  a  copy  be  requested  for  publication. 

Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Association  be  presented  to  those 
gentlemen  who  have  given  extempore  addresses,  and  that  they  be 
requested  to  revise  them  from  the  printed  reports  for  publication  in 
the  forthcoming  volume. 

Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Association  be  presented  to  those 
who  have  prepared  essays  for  publication  in  connection  with  this 
occasion. 

Voted,  likewise,  That  the  thanks  of  this  body  be  presented  to 
the  committee  on  facts  and  statistics,  and  especially  to  the  chair- 
man, Rev.  E .  "VV.  Robinson,  for  his  diligent,  persevering  and  suc- 
cessful labors. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Association  be  presented  to  the 
families  of  this  city  and  vicinity  for  their  liberal  and  courteous  hos- 
pitality ;  to  the  two  Congregational  societies,  for  the  use  of  their 
houses  of  worship ;  to  the  committee  of  arrangements  for  their  del- 
icate and  unwearied  attention  to  our  minutest  wants;  to  the  choirs 
of  the  respective  churches,  for  their  attendance  and  assistance  in 
our  public  praises ;  and  to  the  members  of  the  press  who  have  so 
largely  contributed  to  awaken  and  keep  alive  the  interest  felt  on 
this  important  occasion. 

In  the  discharge  of  the  duty  imposed  upon  the  subscribers 
by  the  General  Association  of  1859,  this  volume  of  contribu- 
tions to  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Connecticut  is  now  offered 
to  the  public.  Much  labor  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  prepa- 
ration of  it  since  the  materials,  in  an  unfinished  state,  were  put 
into  our  hands.  It  will  be  observed,  as  one  result  of  the  nec- 
essary delay  in  the  publication,  that  the  statistical  and  histor- 
ical information  collected  from  the  District  Associations,  and 
from  the  churches,  is  brought  down  to  the  present  year. 

In  so  large  a  volume,  containing  contributions  of  so  many 
different  kinds,  and  from  so  many  different  sources,  the  reader 
will  naturally  expect  to  find  some  diversity  in  matters  of  opin- 


viii  Preface. 

ion,  and  will  neither  be  surprised  nor  offended  at  unimportant 
discrepances  of  statement  in  matters  of  fact.  On  the  ques- 
tion, for  example,  whether  the  First  Church  in  Hartford  or  the 
the  First  Church  in  Windsor  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  oldest  in 
the  State,  the  reader  may  judge  for  himself,  or  hold  his 
judgment  in  suspense.  It  was  not  our  duty  as  a  publishing 
committee  to  decide  any  such  questions.  While  we  have  done 
what  we  could  to  perfect  the  historical  and  statistical  papers 
which  constitute  so  large  a  portion  of  this  volume,  we  trust 
that  neither  the  Committee  nor  the  General  Association  will 
be  held  responsible  for  the  statements  or  the  arguments  of  in- 
dividual contributors.  We  are  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  add  that 
no  inconsiderable  number  of  errors  has  been  discovered  in 
these  pages,  particularly  in  the  matter  of  names  and  dates.  It 
is  hoped  that  most  of  these  will  be  found  to  be  of  no  great 
importance.  A  full  list  of  ERRATA  is  given  at  the  end  of 
the  volume.  It  would  be  well  if  each  person  would  make 
the  proper  corrections  in  his  own  copy  at  the  outset. 

Important  service  has  been  rendered  by  the  members  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  General  Association  to  assist  in 
making  collections  within  their  several  Associations  ;  and  ac- 
knowledgments are  due  to  them  and  to  the  Rev.  Messrs.  W. 
C.  Fowler,  H.  G.  Jesup,  J.  A.  Gallup,  W.  H.  Moore,  Abram 
Marsh,  J.  H.  Newton  and  A.  Putnam  ;  particularly  in  the 
preparation  of  the  Sketches  of  the  District  Associations  and 
the  Lists  of  Licentiates. 

Our  thanks,  and  the  thanks  of  the  General  Association  and  of 
the  churches,  are  also  due  to  Mr.  William  L.  Kingsley,  whose 
diligence  and  skill  have  greatly  aided  our  editorial  labors,  and 
whose  generous  zeal  has  undertaken  the  publication  of  these 
Contributions  to  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  his  native  State, 
with  no  prospect  of  gain,  and  with  no  security  against  pecu- 
niary loss.  Only  a  small  edition  has  been  printed.  We  hope 
it  will  not  be  permitted  to  remain  upon  his  hands. 

LEONARD  BACON,  ) 

S,  W.  S.  DUTTON,  >       Committee 

E.  W.  ROBINSON,     ^  Publication. 


Preface.  '  ix 

NEW  HAVEN,  Dec.  1860. 

Few  readers,  save  those  who  have  had  some  experience  of 
such  work,  can  understand  how  great  the  labor  has  heen  of 
collecting,  condensing,  completing  and  editing  the  Historical 
Sketches  of  the  District  Associations  and  the  Churches  ;  and 
how  much  of  correspondence,  and  of  patient  waiting,  and  of 
renewed  and  repeated  inquiry,  that  labor  has  involved.  The 
two  first  named  members  of  the  Committee  may  be  allowed  to 
say  that  this  great  labor  could  not  have  been  performed  but  for 
the  zeal  and  unwearied  diligence  of  their  colleague,  Rev.  E. 
W.  Robinson.  From  the  first  suggestion  of  the  commemora- 
tion to  the  completion  of  the  indexes  which  will  make  this 
volume  valuable  as  a  book  of  reference,  his  industry  has  nev- 
er been  weary.  He  has  been,  as  many  of  the  contributors 
have  had  occasion  to  know,  the  working  member  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

LEONARD  BACON, 
S.  W.  S.  DUTTON. 


CONTENTS. 


Preface, lii 

Contents,  < x 

Summary, xiii 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE,  by  Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.  .        .      1 

ADDRESSES. 

The  Three  Principles  of  Congregationalism,  by  Prof.  E.  A.  Law- 
rence, D.  D.,  East  Windsor  Hill, Y3 

The  Catholicity  of  Congregationalism,  by  Rev.  T.  D.  Woolsey, 

D.  D.,  President  of  Yale  College, 82 

The  First  Church  in  Connecticut,  by  Rev.  Joel  Hawes,  D.  D., 

Hartford, 85 

The  Mission  of  Congregationalism  at  the  West,  by  Rev.  T.  M. 

Post,  D.  D.,  St.  Louis,  Mo., 93 

Congregationalism  as  in  Harmony  with  the  Scriptural  Idea  of 

Christian  Union,  by  Prof.  E.  P.  Barrows,  Andover,  Mass.,  103 

The  Pilgrim  Fathers,  by  Rev.  John  Waddington,  D.  D.,  London, 

England, 110 

Puritan  Pioneering  in  New  England,  as  compared  with  Puritan 
Pioneering  at  the  West,  by  Rev.  A.  L.  Chapin,  D.  D., 
President  of  Beloit  College,  Wis.,  .  .  .  .  .111 

The  Safety  and  Wisdom  of  complete  Religious  Liberty,  as  illustra- 
ted in  Connecticut,  during  the  last  One  Hundred  and  Fifty 
Years,  by  Rev.  S.  W.  S.  Dutton,  D.  D.,  New  Haven,        .118 

Consociated  Congregationalism,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Eldridge,  D. 

D.,  Norfolk, 125 

The  Lessons  of  our  Day,  as  suggested  by  the  Leading  Aim  of  our 

Fathers,  by  Rev.  Samuel  Wolcott,  Providence,          .         .128 

The]  Congregational  Polity  adapted  both  to  Individual  and 
United  Action  in  the  Cause  of  Christ,  by  Rev.  Joseph  P. 
Thompson,  D.  D.,  New  York  City, 134 

The  Mission  of  our  Churches  as  defined  by  our  History,  by 

Rev.  William  Ives  Budington,  D.  D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.         138 


CONTENTS.  XI 

HISTORICAL    PAPERS. 

Meetings  of  the  General  Association,  by  Rev.  M.  N.  Morris, 

Register, 144 

Dr.  E.  Wheelock's  (Moor's)  Indian  Charity  School,          .         .  148 
First  Meeting  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 

Foreign  Missions,  by  Rev.  N.  Porter,  D.  D.,     .         .         .  15  [ 
Foreign  Missionaries  from  Connecticut,    .         .         .         .         .154 
Cornwall  Mission  School,           .         .         .         .         .         •         .160 
Congregational   Home  Missions  in  Connecticut,  by  Rev.  Hor- 
ace Hooker, 163 

Graduates  of  Yale  College  Avho  have  served  as  Foreign  Mis- 
sionaries, ..........  180 

Theological  Department  of  Yale  College,          ....  182 

Theological  Institute  of  Connecticut,  at  East  Windsor  Hill,  by 

Rev.  Charles  Hyde, 185 

Sabbath  Schools,  by  Rev.  Joel  Hawes,  D.  D.,  .        .        .        .190 

Revivals  of  Religion  in  Connecticut, 197 

Contributions  for  Benevolent  purposes, 203 

Connection  of  the  Congregational  Ministers  and  Churches  of 
Connecticut  with  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Temperance 
reformation,  by  Rev.  John  Marsh,  D.  D.,  New  York  City,  205 
Pastors  and  Stated  Supplies,  by  Rev.  George  P.  Prudden,        .  221 
History  and  Results  of  the  different  methods  of  raising  Salaries 

in  Connecticut,  by  Rev.  Hiram  P.  Arms,  .         .        .  226 

Parsonages  and  Permanent  Funds, 230 

The  Permanent  Fund  System,  by  Rev,  G.  A.  Calhoun,  D.  D.,  .  233 
A  Permanent  Ministry,  by  Rev.  Timothy  Tut  tie,       .         .         .239 
Common  School  and  Academical  Education  as  indebted  to  Con- 
gregationalists,  by  David  N.  Camp,  Esq.,  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools, 248 

Separate  Churches  in  Connecticut,  by  Rev.  R.  C.  Learned,      .  253 
On  the  Rise,  Growth  and  Comparative  Relations  of  other  Evan- 
gelical Denominations  in  Connecticut,  to  Congregational- 
ism, by  Rev.  Henry  Jones, 

Presbyterians,    ..*....  260 

Baptists, 262 

Episcopalians, 263 

Methodists, 267 

Congregationalists  in  their  relations  to  other  Sects,  character- 
ized by  Error,  Fanaticism,  or  Disorder,  by  Rev.  Abel  Mc- 
Ewen,  D.  D., 

Unitarians,          .        .        .        .        .        .        .274 


xii  CONTENTS. 

Universalists, 277 

Separates, 280 

Hitlerites,  or  Second  Adventists,          .         .         .281 

Spiritualists, 282 

Rogerenes, 283 

Sandemanians,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .284 

Summary  of  Decisions  of  the  Courts  of  Connecticut  in  Eccle- 
siastical cases, 286 

Half  Century  Ministers  of  Connecticut, 289 

Early  Theological  Education, 296 


HISTORICAL   SKETCHES   OF  THE  DISTRICT  ASSOCIA- 
TIONS, WITH  LISTS  OF  THEIR  LICENTIATES. 

Fairfield  East, 298 

Fairfield  West 301 

Hartford  Central, 304 

Hartford  Fourth, 306 

Hartford  North, 307 

Hartford  South,  .         •         .         .         .        .310 

Litchfield  North, 313 

Litchfield  South, 316 

Middlesex, 319 

New  Haven  Central, 320 

New  Haven  East, 321 

New  Haven  West, 327 

New  London, 332 

Tolland,      .         .         .         .  .         .         .  335 

Windham, 337 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THE  CONGREGATIONAL 
CHURCHES  OF  CONNECTICUT, 

Ix  ALPHABETICAL  ORDER, 340,  516 

APPENDIX. 

List  of  Towns,  Churches  and  Post  Offices  of  different  names,  .  517 
Early  Theological  Education,  [Supplement.]  .        .         .518 

Half  Century  Ministers,  [Additional.] 518 

Errata,        ...........  520 


CONTENTS.  X1U 

TOPICAL  INDEX. 
INDEX  OF  NAMES. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


SUMMARY. 

The  following  statistical  items — some  of  them  scattered  through 
the  volume,  and  a  few  of  them  not  elsewhere  to  be  found — are  here 
grouped  together  for  convenience  of  reference. 

Associations  in  the  State,  .  .  .  .  .15 

Churches  now  existing  and  reported,  .  .  .  284 

Whole  Number  of  Church  Members,  (Minutes  Gen.  Assoc.)  47,109 
Extinct  Churches  reported,         .  .  .  .  .21 

"Separate"  Churches,  extinct, merged  or  changed,       .  .     30 

Towns  in  the  State,          ......  161 

Town  having  no  Congregational  Church,  (Waterford,)  .       1 

Pastors  who  went  on  Missionary  tours  before  1798,       .  .     45 

Missionaries  sent  to  New  Settlements  and  the  West,     .  .  279 

Amount  expended  for  these  Missions,  and  paid  to  Am.  Home 

Miss.  Society,  (June,  1859,)  .  .  .$654,304.40 

Number  of  Churches  formed  by  these  Missionaries,  about,        .  500 
Churches  and  Congregations  aided  in  Conn.,  by  the  Connec- 
ticut Missionary  Society,  .     93 
Of  these  there  are  now  self-supporting,           .            .  .53 
Still  receiving  aid,       .            .             .            .            .             .35 

Have  become  extinct  or  changed,       .  .  .  .5 

Expended  for  Home  Missions  in  the  State,  (June,  1859,)  $117,422.29 

Foreign  Missionaries  from  Connecticut,  .  .  .  103 

Female  Foreign  Missionaries  reported,  .  .  .72 

Foreign  Missionaries,  Graduates  of  Yale  College,          .  .     54 

Students  of  Yale  Theological  Seminary,  (1859,)  about,  .  700 

Students  of  East  Windsor  Theological  Institute,  (1859,)          .  238 

Half-Century  Ministers,  on  both  Lists,  .  .  .250 

Those  who  have  ministered  in  the  State,         .  .  .175 

Natives  and  Licentiates  who  have  ministered  out  of  the  State,  70 

Who  have  left  the  Congregational  ministry,  .  .  .5 

Licentiates  reported,       .....  1320 

Of  these  there  were  licensed  before  1760,  by  six  Associations,  125 


Xiv  CONTENTS. 

Pastors  Reported,            .....  1870 

Stated  Supplies,  mostly  for  one  year  or  more,    .            .  595 

Ministers  raised  up,  (many  probably  not  reported,)       .  1493 

Names  in  Index,  including  repetitions,     .             .           .  6000 
Contributions  for  benevolent  purposes,  224  Churches,  1857,  $  90,870 
Contributions,  (Minutes  General  Assoc.,)  275  Churches., 

1859,              ......  $121,860 

Home  expenses  of  Churches.  (Minutes  Gen.  Assoc.,  1859,  $344,103 

Number  of  Parsonages,                            "           "  118 

Societies  having  Funds,            "              "          "          "  197 

Value  of  Parsonages  and  funds,  "              "           "          "  $828,980 

Pastoral  Libraries,            .....  20 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE, 


DELIVERED    AT    NORWICH,    JUNE    23,   1859, 


BEFORE  THE 


AT  THE  CELEBRATION  OP  ITS 


ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY. 


BY    LEONARD    BACON,    D.  D 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE. 


IN  attempting  to  fulfill  the  appointment  which  I  received 
from  the  last  General  Association,  I  throw  myself  frankly  on 
that  Christian  liberality  and  fraternal  kindness,  of  which  the 
appointment  itself  was  an  expression.  I  am  not  the  pastor  of 
a  consociated  church.  I  have  been  sometimes,  and  in  some 
quarters,  reputed  to  be  unfriendly  to  that  form  of  confederation 
which  our  fathers  and  predecessors  established  among  the 
churches  in  this  Puritan  commonwealth.  Others  are  in  many 
respects  more  competent  than  I  am,  to  the  duty  of  setting 
forth  in  a  historical  discourse  the  origin  and  design,  the  working, 
and  the  results  of  that  ecclesiastical  constitution.  Assured  that 
the  appointment  was  not  made  inconsiderately,  nor  without 
the  understood  consent  of  the  pastors  and  other  ministers  re- 
presented in  the  General  Association,  I  accept  the  task  in  the 
same  spirit  in  which  it  was  assigned  to  me.  Addressing  my- 
self on  this  occasion,  not  to  the  General  Association  as  a  repre- 
sentative body,  but  to  its  constituency  assembled  as  in  a  mass 
meeting,  I  speak  in  all  freedom ;  for  I  am  sure  that  what  is 
expected  of  me  is  not  a  set  defense  of  any  particular  arrange- 
ment for  maintaining  that  great  principle  of  "  the  Congrega- 
tional way,"  the  communion  of  churches,  but  only  an  honest 
attempt  to  set  forth  those  facts  of  our  ecclesiastical  history, 
which  are  most  pertinent  to  this  commemoration. 

One  hundred  and  fifty-one  years  ago,  that  is  in  the  year 
1708,  on  the  9th,  or  according  to  our  present  calendar,  the  20th 
day  of  September,  a  meeting  of  pastors  and  lay  messengers, 
hardly  more  numerous  than  an  ordaining  council  of  these 

times,  was   convened  in  the  little  town  of  Saybrook.     The 
2 


time  of  meeting  was  the  time  of  commencement  in  the  "  Col- 
legiate School,"  which  has  since  become  Yale  College,  and  in 
which  the  seventh  commencement  was  then  to  be  celebrated. 
The  place  may  be  presumed,  and  is  reported  by  the  local  tra- 
dition to  have  been  at  the  house  which  Mr.  Nathaniel  Lynde 
of  Saybrook  had  generously  given  for  the  use  of  the  college, 
so  long  as  it  should  be  continued  in  that  town.  Commence- 
ment in  those  days  brought  no  great  concourse  to  the  town  ; 
for  as  yet  the  degrees  were  conferred  with  no  public  demon- 
stration, only  a  few  friends  of  the  candidates,  in  addition  to  the 
trustees,  being  admitted  to  the  ceremony.  Nor  did  the  pre- 
sence of  the  synod,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  add  much  to  the 
attendance  in  Saybrook  at  that  commencement ;  for  of  the 
twelve  ministers  whose  names  appear  upon  the  roll  of  that 
synod,  nine  were  at  the  time  trustees  of  the  Collegiate  School. 
The  synod  then,  (for  by  that  name  it  will  be  convenient  to 
speak  of  it,)  was  hardly  more  than  a  meeting  of  the  trustees 
in  another  capacity. 

Let  us  name  then,  one  by  one,  the  men  who  formed  the 
Saybrook  constitution.  What  else  is  there  to  be  known  con- 
cerning them  ?  What  sort  of  men  were  they  in  their  gene- 
ration ? 

Small  as  that  synod  was  numerically,  it  had  two  modera- 
tors, not  so  much  for  use  as  for  dignity  ;  not  so  much  because 
the  assembly  was  expected  to  be  turbulent,  as  because  such 
had  been  the  way  in  the  preceding  synods  of  New  England. 
The  senior  moderator  was  JAMES  NOTES,  of  Stonington,  at  that 
time  a  venerated  father  among  the  clergy  of  Connecticut, 
being  in  the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  His  father,  of  the 
same  name,  the  first  teacher  of  the  church  in  Newbury,  Mas- 
sachusetts, was  one  of  those  eminent  men  among  the  first 
ministers  of  New  England,  whose  lives  are  recorded  in  Mather's 
Magnalia,  and  was  greatly  distinguished  in  his  day,  like  his 
colleague  and  kinsman  Thomas  Parker,  by  his  dissent  from 


the  Congregational  way,  and  by  the  approximation  of  his 
views  to  the  Presbyterian  system.  Our  James  Noyes  was  an 
alumnus  of  Harvard  College,  a  graduate  of  1659.  He  had  been 
for  forty-four  years  the  minister  of  Stonington,  and  for  thirty- 
four  years  the  pastor  there  ;  the  first  church  in  Stonington  not 
having  been  instituted  till  ten  years  after  the  commencement 
of  his  labors  in  the  town. 

The  adsessor  of  James  Noyes  in  moderating  the  synod,  was 
THOMAS  BUCKINGHAM,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Saybrook.  He 
was  a  son  of  Thomas  Buckingham,  one  of  the  "seven  pillars" 
who  were  chosen  to  begin  the  church  in  Milford.  As  he  does 
not  appear  among  the  alumni  of  Harvard  College,  it  may  be 
presumed  that  he  received  his  education  in  the  New  Haven  "col- 
ony school."  He  appears  to  have  commenced  his  ministry  at 
Saybrook,  not  far  from  the  year  1667,  when  the  candlestick  had 
been  removed  out  of  its  place,  by  the  migration  of  the  church 
with  its  pastor  to  Norwich.  Before  1669  another  church  had 
been  gathered  in  Saybrook,  and  soon  afterwards  Thomas 
Buckingham  had  become  its  pastor.  At  the  date  of  the  synod  he 
was  sixty-two  years  of  age,  and  had  been  in  the  pastoral  office 
not  far  from  forty  years.  All  the  indications  of  his  character 
and  position  that  appear  upon  the  documents  that  have  come 
down  to  us  from  that  age,  show  that  he  was  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  among  the  clergy  of  the  colony.  To  us  assem- 
bled here,  it  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  honored  and  beloved 
chief  magistrate  of  this  ancient  commonwealth,  at  the  present 
time,  is  his  descendant. 

Where  there  were  two  moderators,  it  is  not  strange  that  there 
were  two  scribes.  These  were  STEPHEN  Mix,  of  Wethers- 
field,  and  JOHN  WOODWARD,  of  Norwich.  The  former  was  at 
that  time  about  thirty-six  years  old.  He  was  a  native  of  New 
Haven,  the  youngest  son  of  one  who  was  a  young  man  among 
the  earliest  inhabitants  of  the  town.  Educated  at  Harvard 
College,  a  graduate  of  1690,  he  became  pastor  of  the  Weth- 


ersfield  church  in  1694,  when  he  was  only  twenty-two  years 
of  age  ;  and  in  that  place  the  traditionary  remembrance  of  his 
ministry,  and  especially  of  the  authority  with  which  he  ruled 
the  people,  was  long  maintained,  and  I  dare  say  is  not  yet  ex- 
tinguished. The  other  scribe,  John  Woodward,  was  a  still 
younger  man.  He  had  been  less  than  nine  years  a  pastor, 
though  he  had  been  fifteen  years  a  graduate  of  Harvard. 

Another  aged  pastor,  deputed  by  the  council  of  New  Lon- 
don county,  was  present  in  the  synod,  namely,  MOSES  NOTES, 
of  Lyme.  He  had  been  minister  in  that  place  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  settlement  there,  forty-two  years ;  but  he  had 
sustained  the  pastoral  office  only  fifteen  years,  for,  from  1666 
till  1693,  though  public  worship  was  maintained  in  Lyme,  and 
a  minister  supported,  without  aid  from  any  Home  Missionary 
Society,  no  church  was  instituted  in  that  settlement.  It  seems 
difficult  to  reconcile  such  a  fact  with  another  equally  attested 
fact,  namely,  that  the  man  who  labored  as  minister  of  the 
gospel  twenty-seven  years  in  a  single  parish,  without  gathering 
a  church,  and  therefore  without  any  administration  of  sacra- 
mental ordinances,  was  nevertheless  a  man  of  mark  among  the 
clergy  of  the  colony,  a  Calvinist  without  reproach  in  his  doc- 
trinal scheme,  and  esteemed  by  the  best  judges  that  knew  him, 
a  man  of  great  and  extensive  learning,  an  excellent  Christian, 
and  judicious  divine.  He  was  three  years  younger  than  his 
brother  the  moderator,  but  the  two  were  classmates  at  Harvard 
College  in  the  class  of  1659. 

Two  other  members  of  the  synod,  the  next  after  Buckingham 
in  the  order  of  age,  were  also  classmates  at  Harvard,  in  the  class 
of  1675.  SAMUEL  ANDREW,  of  Milford  was  at  that  time  in  the 
fifty-second  year  of  his  age,  and  was  just  completing  the  twenty- 
third  year  of  his  pastorate.  He  was  the  acting  rector  or  presi- 
dent of  the  Collegiate  School,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold 
without  resigning  his  pastoral  charge,  till  after  the  removal  of 
the  school  to  New  Haven,  and  the  completion  of  its  first  col- 


5 

lege  building  there  in  1718,  when  his  son-in-law,  the  pastor  of 
Stratford,  was  appointed  rector.  His  ministry  at  Milford,  pro- 
longed through  more  than  half  a  century,  seems  to  have  been 
steadily  prosperous,  and  the  effects  of  it  upon  the  habits  of  the 
people  are  visible  at  this  day.  His  classmate.  TIMOTHY  WOOD- 
BRIDGE,  of  Hartford,  was  a  son  of  that  John  Wood  bridge  who 
came  to  New  England  in  1634,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and 
was  pastor  for  a  little  while  at  Andover,  but  resigned  his 
charge  and  returned  to  England  while  Puritanism  was  in  the 
ascendant  there,  and  then,  after  many  years,  came  back,  and 
was  settled  in  New  bury  as  colleague  with  his  aged  uncle, 
Thomas  Parker,  and  successor  to  his  kinsman,  the  father  of 
the  Noyeses.  Timothy  Woodbridge  was  ordained  pastor  of 
the  First  Church  in  Hartford,  on  the  same  day  on  which  his 
college  classmate  was  ordained  at  Milford.  He  came  into 
the  pastoral  office  in  that  church,  only  nineteen  years  after 
the  decease  of  Samuel  Stone,  the  surviving  colleague  of 
Thomas  Hooker.  How  well  he  bore  himself  in  that  office, 
and  to  what  degree  of  honor  and  public  confidence  he  attained 
among  his  contemporaries,  is  amply  testified  by  the  eulogium 
which  Timothy  Edwards  pronounced  upon  him,  when  preach- 
ing the  election  sermon  before  the  authorities  of  the  colony, 
the  week  after  his  death,  [1732.]  Both  the  Hartford  minis- 
ters had  died  within  the  year,  and  both  were  commemorated 
by  the  preacher,  standing  in  the  pulpit  where  both  had  been 
for  many  years  accustomed  to  sit  on  the  occasion  of  that  great 
solemnity.  Having  spoken  first  of  the  pastor  of  the  South 
Church  who  had  died  six  months  before,  he  proceeded  to  speak 
more  at  large  of  "  that  aged  and  eminent  servant  of  Christ, 
who  died  in  this  town  this  last  week,  who  was  one  of  the 
principal  men  of  his  order  in  the  land.  Him,  we  that  were 
his  contemporaries  in  the  sacred  work  of  the  evangelical  min- 
istry in  the  towns  about  him,  generally  considered  as  one  much 
our  senior  and  superior  j  and  in  cases  of  weight  and  difficulty 


6 

advised  with  and  hearkened  to  him  as  our  head  and  guide, 
yea  very  much  as  to  a  father,  who  was  indeed  one  of  the 
chief  of  the  fathers  of  that  tribe  in  Israel  which  he,  by  office 
as  a  minister  of  Christ,  stood  especially  related  to."  All  this 
might  seem  to  be  no  more  than  the  common-place  eulogium 
that  naturally  follows  the  hearse  of  an  aged  and  respected 
minister.  But  when  we  remember  that  the  preacher  who  said 
all  this,  was  himself  well  advanced  in  life,  these  strong  ex- 
pressions of  veneration  for  a  departed  leader  and  father,  become 
more  significant.  Nor  was  all  this  enough  for  his  own  feeling, 
or  for  the  expectation  of  his  hearers.  He  went  on  to  speak  of 
the  departed  more  particularly:  "the  goodness  of  his  natural 
temper  ;  the  gravity,  greatness  and  superiority  that  appeared 
in  his  countenance  ;  his  bodily  presence  being  so  far  from 
being  mean  and  contemptible,  that  it  was  great,  much  above 
what  is  ordinary,  his  proper  stature,  (he  being  taller  than  the 
common  size,)  with  his  comely  and  majestic  aspect,  being  such 
as  commanded  reverence  ;" — "  how  wise  and  judicious  he 
was  ;  with  his  great  prudence,  his  entertaining  freedom,  oblig- 
ing courtesy  and  affability  ;  his  superior  learning,  reading  and 
knowledge  ;  his  liberal,  bountiful,  generous  and  public  spirit;" 
— "his  great  ability  for,  and  readiness  in  giving  counsel  in  diffi- 
cult and  important  cases,  and  how  much  the  care  of  the  churches 
and  of  the  College  lay  upon  him;" — "and  how  happy  a 
hand  he  had  in  managing  of  controversies  and  differences  ;  and 
what  influence,  sway,  and  authority  he  had  with  ministers  and 
people  ;'' — "  and  how  from  place  to  place  he  carried  the  bless- 
ing of  peace  with  him ;  and  how  ready  and  willing  he  was 
with  love  to  serve  men  and  do  good  to  all."  The  hearers 
were  furthermore  reminded  of  "  his  orthodoxy  and  soundness 
in  the  Christian  faith,  and  how  much  he  savored  of  a  gracious 
spirit — particularly  in  his  great  love  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
his  blessed  master ;  his  holy  zeal  for  God  and  against  sin  ;  his 
humble  submission  and  resignation  to  divine  sovereignty ; 


[and]  his  great  mortification  to  the  world."  It  seemed  not  ne- 
cessary to  tell  them,  but  only  to  remind  them,  "  for  how  many 
years  and  how  well  he  filled  the  pulpit,  and  (in  our  councils 
and  associations,)  the  moderator's  chair  ;  and  with  how  amiable 
a  conversation  he  adorned  his  profession  ;" — "  and  how  becom- 
ing a  Christian  and  a  minister  he  carried  himself,  both  living 
and  dying."  When  such  men  die,"  exclaimed  the  preacher, 
"we  may  well  weep  over  them,  as  the  king  of  Israel  wept 
over  the  holy  prophet,  '  O  my  father,  my  father  !  the  chariots 
of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof  /'  ' 

I  may  add  that  he  who  was  the  subject  of  all  this  eulogy,  left 
in  print  one  specimen  of  his  ability  in  the  ministry, — an 
election  sermon  preached  in  1727,  when  he  was  already  far 
advanced  in  age.  An  attentive  examination  of  that  sermon, 
especially  in  the  light  of  the  testimony  given  so  soon  after- 
wards over  his  recent  grave,  shows  that  he  was  a  strong  and 
deep  thinker,  and  that  he  must  have  been  to  an  intelligent  con- 
gregation an  eminently  impressive  preacher. 

Another  class  of  graduates  from  Harvard,  that  of  1681,  gave 
three  members  to  our  little  synod,  namely,  JAMES  PIERPONT, 
of  New  Haven,  NOADIAH  RUSSELL,  of  Middletown,  and  SAM- 
UEL RUSSELL,  of  Branford.  The  first  of  these  is  traditionally 
reported  to  have  made  the  original  draught  of  the  articles 
adopted  by  the  synod.  At  the  house  where  some  of  his  de- 
scendants live  on  his  old  homestead  in  New  Haven,  his  coun- 
tenance— slightly  shaded  with  a  look  of  sadness  yet  expressive 
of  whatever  quality  can  win  affection,  gentle  and  scholarly 
yet  full  of  manly  beauty,  with  the  high,  thoughtful  forehead, 
the  delicately  chiseled  features,  and  the  dark,  keen  eye — still 
looks  upon  us  from  the  canvas.  And  well  do  the  rich  masses 
of  hair  falling  upon  his  shoulders,  the  neat  white  bands,  and 
the  scholar's  gown  with  its  loose  folds,  set  off  the  serious 
beauty  of  that  countenance.  One  printed  sermon  remains  to 
tell  us  with  what  force  and  fervor,  as  well  as  doctrinal  sound- 


8 

ness,  he  performed  his  work  in  preaching  the  word.  The  time 
at  which  he  came  to  the  pastoral  office  in  the  New  Haven 
Church,  required  in  the  pastor  peculiar  gifts  of  influence  and 
of  wisdom,  and  especially  a  manifest  eminence  in  the  wisdom 
that  cometh  from  above.  The  generation  that  came  out  of 
England  had  just  passed  away.  Eaton  and  Goodyear,  Greg- 
son  and  the  Newmans,  and  others  like  them  who  had  first  en- 
countered the  temptations  of  the  wilderness,  and  had  laid  the 
foundations  of  what  they  hoped  would  be  a  glorious  temple, 
had  left  behind  them  none  that  could  be  called  their  equals. 
The  first  pastor  Davenport,  seventeen  years  before,  had  forsaken 
the  church  in  his  old  age,  not  only  because  he  felt  himself  called 
to  do  battle  in  a  broader  field  for  what  he  esteemed  an  essen- 
tial principle  of  the  Congregational  way,  but  also  because,  in 
the  midst  of  thickening  disappointments,  he  was  depressed  and 
discouraged.  His  colleague,  Street,  had  labored  on  alone  six 
years,  and  his  death  had  left  the  church  for  the  first  time  with- 
out a  minister.  Ten  years  of  trouble,  of  discouragement,  of 
division,  and  of  steady  declension  followed,  and  then,  by  the 
kind  providence  of  God,  the  young  man  came  to  them,  in 
whom,  after  a  few  months  of  probation,  their  hearts  were 
united.  His  wisdom,  his  gentleness,  his  faithfulness,  carried 
that  church  through  a  perilous  crisis  in  its  history.  His  public 
spirit,  as  well  as  his  eminent  gifts,  made  him  conspicuous  in 
the  colony.  It  was  out  of  his  consultations  with  his  two  next 
neighbors  in  the  ministry,  Andrew,  of  Milford,  and  Russell,  of 
Branford,  that  the  movement  came  which  resulted  in  the 
founding  of  a  college  under  the  humble  name  of  a  collegiate 
school.  In  the  words  of  Cotton  Mather,  "  New  Haven  valued 
him — all  Connecticut  honored  him."  When  he  came  to  the 
commencement  at  Saybrook,  in  1708,  making  his  slow  jour- 
ney through  the  woods  that  had  as  yet  receded  from  the  shore 
only  at  distant  intervals,  and  discussing  the  affairs  of  the  col- 
ony, the  college,  and  the  churches,  with  his  friend  and  class- 


mate  Samuel  Russell,  as  they  rode  side  by  Side  from  Branford 
to  the  river,  he  was  less  than  fifty  years  old,  but  he  had  been 
more  than  twenty-three  years  in  the  pastoral  office.  He  died 
six  years  afterwards,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five,  when  the  college 
of  which  he  was  a  principal  founder  had  not  yet  found  its  per- 
manent abode,  and  when  the  system  of  church  government 
which  he  helped  to  frame  had  not  yet  begun  to  show  what  it 
could  do.  But  his  usefulness  has  survived  him  in  his  descend- 
ants to  this  day.  His  beautiful  and  gifted  daughter,  Sarah,  a 
great  grand  daughter  of  Thomas  Hooker,  was  like  a  minister- 
ing angel  to  her  husband,*  that  wonderful  preacher  and  theo- 
logian, whose  name  is  to  this  day  the  most  illustrious  in  the 
church  history  of  New  England,  but  who  could  never  have 
fulfilled  his  destiny  without  her.  A  grandson  of  hisf  enriched 
our  New  England  theology  with  his  unanswerable  exposition 
and  defense  of  the  divine  fact  of  the  atonement  for  the  sins  of 
men.  A  great  grandson  of  hisj  presided  over  the  college  for 
more  than  twenty  years  with  eminent  success  and  wide  re- 
nown, and  left  to  all  the  evangelical  churches  that  read  or 
worship  in  our  English  language,  the  only  System  of  Theo- 
logy that  ever  has  become  in  two  hemispheres  a  popular  reli- 
gious classic.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  humble  collegiate  school, 
which  in  1708  was  sending  out  a  class  of  three  graduates,  and 
which,  when  James  Pierpont  died  had  not  yet  dared  to  call 
itself  a  college,  has  grown  into  a  university  with  five  distinct 
faculties  of  instruction,  with  almost  six  hundred  students,  and 
with  more  than  three  thousand  living  alumni  ;  and  its  beloved 
and  honored  president,  with  those  various  gifts  of  genius,  of 
learning  and  of  grace,  which  so  adorn  the  office  made  illus- 
trious by  his  predecessors,  is  a  great  great  grandson  of  the 
same  James  Pierpont. 

Of  Pierpont's  two  classmates,  the  Russells,  we  know  less  ; 

*  President  Edwards,    f  The  younger  President  Edwards.    J  President  Dwight. 
3 


10 

but  what  we  know  is  of  the  same  sort  with  what  we  know 
of  him.  The  church  of  Middletown  was  in  its  stage  of  early 
weakness  when  Noadiah  Russell  became  the  pastor  there.  His 
only  predecessor  in  office  had  died  after  a  ministry  of  only 
sixteen  years,  and  an  interregnum  of  four  years  had  followed. 
That  was,  as  I  have  intimated,  a  time  of  greater  depression, 
and  greater  peril  in  church  and  state  than  any  other  time  in 
the  history  of  New  England.  Just  then  it  was  that  Noadiah 
Russell,  whose  childhood  and  early  youth  had  been  passed 
under  the  ministry  of  Davenport  and  Street,  in  New  Haven, 
began  his  ministry  in  Middletown.  How  well  he  performed 
his  work,  how  effectually  he  molded  the  character,  and  formed 
the  habits  of  the  people,  and  how  much  he  had  of  their  grate- 
ful affection,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  when  he  died, 
in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  twenty-ninth  of  his 
pastorate,  his  son  became  in  a  few  months  his  successor,  and 
labored  there  for  almost  fifty  years — the  entire  period  from  the 
ordination  of  the  father  to  the  funeral  of  the  son  being  more 
than  three-quarters  of  a  century.  In  like  manner  Samuel 
Russell,  son  of  the  first  minister  of  Hadley,  came  to  the  pas- 
toral office  in  Branford  at  the  re-organization  of  the  church 
there,  twenty-two  years  after  the  removal  of  Abraham  Pierson 
with  his  flock  to  New  Jersey.  He  became  the  second  father 
of  the  town.  His  ministry,  peaceful  and  prosperous,  was  pro- 
longed forty-four  years,  till  his  death  in  1731,  at  the  age  of 
seventy.  It  was  at  his  house  that  the  ceremony  of  founding 
the  college,  by  the  ten  ministers  who  had  been  designated  for 
that  purpose,  took  place  in  the  year  1700. 

Of  the  twelve  clergymen  in  our  little  synod,  I  have  already 
mentioned  ten.  The  two  that  remain  to  be  commemorated,  were 
contemporaries  in  college,  though  not  classmates, — CHARLES 
CHAUNCEY,  who  graduated  in  1686,  and  JOHN  DAVENPORT, 
who  graduated  one  year  later — the  one  being  a  grandson  of 
that  Charles  Chauncey  who,  in  the  first  generation  of  our  New 


11 

England  history,  was  President  of  Harvard  College,  and  the 
other  being  the  only  grandson  of  the  first  pastor  of  New  Ha- 
ven. The  first  was  forty  years  old  in  1708 ;  the  second,  one 
year  younger,  they  being  the  youngest  members  of  the  synod 
with  the  exception  of  the  scribes.  Chauncey  was  pastor  of 
the  Stratfield  church,  now  the  First  church  in  Bridgeport.  He 
was  born  in  Stratford,  where  his  father,  the  youngest  son  of 
President  Chauncey,  was  pastor.  He  was  twenty-seven  years 
old,  and  had  been  nine  years  a  graduate,  when  a  new  parish 
was  instituted,  which  received  the  name  of  Stratfield  as  signi- 
fying that  part  of  it  was  in  Stratford,  and  part  in  Fairfield.  At 
the  organization  of  the  church  in  that  new  parish,  he  was  or- 
dained to  the  pastoral  office  over  a  people  among  whom  he  had 
been  known  from  his  childhood.  In  that  office  he  continued 
till  his  death  in  1714.  John  Davenport,  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Stamford,  was  not  inferior  in  ability  to  any  other  member 
of  the  synod.  In  his  own  church  and  town,  and  among  the 
ministers  and  churches  of  that  county,  he  had  a  commanding 
influence.  In  the  election  sermon  for  1731,  his  death,  which 
had  taken  place  three  months  before,  was  spoken  of  by  the 
preacher  (Samuel  Whittelsey,  of  Wallingford)  as  "the  remo- 
val of  one  eminent  for  learning,  and  who  was  a  bulwark  and  a 
barrier  upon  our  frontiers."  Nor  was  this  an  unmeaning  eu- 
logy. As  to  his  learning,  it  was  testified  at  his  funeral,  by  one 
of  his  neighbors  in  the  ministry,  (Samuel  Cooke,  the  successor 
of  Chauncey  at  Stratfield,)  that  "he  had  the  advantage  of  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  those  languages  wherein  the  scriptures 
were  given  by  Divine  inspiration,  probably  far  beyond  the  com- 
pass of  any  of  his  survivors  within  many  scores  of  miles  every 
way  ;  and  so  could  drink  immediately  out  of  the  sacred  foun- 
tain, those  languages  being  almost  as  familiar  to  him  as  his 
mother  tongue."  And  that  he  was  not  a  scholar  merely,  but  a 
man  of  action  and  of  influence,  was  largely  testified.  His  rela- 
tions to  the  civil  interests,  of  the  colony,  to  the  college,  (of  which 


12 

he  had  been  for  fourteen  years  a  trustee,)  and  to  the  ecclesiastical 
commonwealth  at  large,  as  well  as  to  his  own  parish,  having 
been  referred  to,  and  his  ability  and  bold  fidelity  as  a  minister 
of  God's  word,  having  been  commemorated,  the  speaker  went  on 
to  say,  he  "  was  both  our  crown  and  our  bulwark"  ; — "  it  was 
many  years  since  looked  upon  by  the  serious  and  judicious  as 
a  special  favor  of  Divine  Providence  that  a  person  of  such  dis- 
tinction was  seated  so  near  the  western  limits  of  New  England 
as  a  bulwark  against  any  irruptions  of  corrupt  doctrines  or 
manners." 

Of  the  four  lay  messengers  who  were  delegated  to  that  sy- 
nod from  the  several  constituent  councils,  little  can  be  reported. 
"  The  council  of  Hartford  county  sent  JOHN  HAYNES,  Esq.,  of 
the  First  church  in  Hartford,  who  was  a  son  of  the  second 
pastor  of  that  church,  and  a  grandson  of  the  first  governor  of 
that  colony.  He  had  been  liberally  educated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  was  eminent  in  civil  life,  being  a  Judge  and  an  "  as- 
sistant." "  From  the  council  of  Fairfield  county"  came  Dea- 
con SAMUEL  HOYT,  an  officer  of  the  church  in  Stamford.  "  From 
the  council  of  New  London  county"  there  were  two,  of  whom 
one  was  ROBERT  CHAPMAN,  of  Saybrook,  a  man  who  often 
represented  that  town  in  the  colonial  legislature,  and  whose 
memorial  among  his  descendants  is  that  "he  walked  with 
God;"  and  the  other  was  Deacon  WILLIAM  PARKER,  of  whom 
I  have  been  able  to  find  no  traces  elsewhere. 

The  synod,  consisting  of  these  sixteen  members,  was  con- 
vened by  an  order  from  the  civil  government  of  the  colony. 
Such  a  call  was  in.  accordance  not  only  with  the  ideas  then 
prevalent,  but  with  all  the  precedents  in  the  history  of  New 
England.  It  was  universally  understood  in  those  days — and 
rarely  was  there  an  election  sermon  in  which  it  was  not  explic- 
itly or  implicitly  repeated — that  Moses  and  Aaron  were  to 
embrace  each  other  in  the  mount ;  that  Christian  magis- 
trates were  to  care  for  the  peace  and  purity  of  the  churches ;  and 


13 

that  those  who  were  entrusted  with  the  government  of  the  com- 
monwealth were  to  be  regarded,  and  were  to  regard  themselves, 
in  their  relation  to  the  churches,  as  episcopi  quoad  externa.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  May,  1708,  the  legislature  entered  upon  the  rec- 
ord of  its  doings  an  order  which  not  only  convened  the  synod, 
but  prescribed  its  duties,  and  which  should  therefore  be  read  in 
full  on  such  an  occasion  as  the  present. 

"  This  Assembly,  from  their  own  observation,  and  the  complaint 
of  many  others,  being  made  sensible  of  the  defects  of  discipline  in 
the  churches  of  this  government,  arising  from  the  want  of  more 
explicit  asserting  of  the  rules  given  for  that  end  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, from  which  would  arise  a  permanent  establishment  among 
ourselves,  a  good  and  regular  issue  in  cases  subject  to  ecclesiastical 
discipline,  glory  to  Christ  our  head,  and  edification  to  his  members, 
hath  seen  fit  to  ordain  and  require,  and  it  is  by  tht  authority  of  the 
same  ordained  and  required,  that  the  ministers  of  the  several  coun- 
ties in  this  government  shall  meet  together,  at  their  respective  coun- 
ty towns,  with  such  messengers  as  the  churches  to  which  they  be- 
long shall  see  cause  to  send  with  them,  on  the  last  Monday  in  June 
next,  there  to  consider  and  agree  upon  those  methods  and  rules  for 
the  management  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which  by  them  shall 
be  judged  agreeable  and  conformable  to  the  word  of  God,  and  shall, 
at  the  same  meeting,  appoint  two  or  more  of  their  number  to  be 
their  delegates,  who  shall  all  meet  together  at  Saybrook,  at  the  next 
commencement  to  be  held  there,  where  they  shall  compare  the  results 
of  the  ministers  of  the  several  counties,  and  out  of  and  from  them 
to  draw  a  form  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which,  by  two  or  more 
persons  delegated  by  them,  shall  be  offered  to  this  court,  at  their 
session  at  Xew  Haven  in  October  next,  to  be  considered  of  and  af- 
firmed by  them  ;  and  the  expense  of  the  above  mentioned  meetings 
shall  be  defrayed  out  of  the  public  treasury  of  this  colony." 

The  alleged  occasion  of  this  ordinance,  and  the  ends  which 
it  was  expected  to  answer,  require  some  attention  on  our  part 
if  we  would  fully  understand  this  important  chapter  in  the 
church  history  of  Connecticut.  "  Defects  of  the  discipline  of 


14 

the  churches"  are  referred  to  as  obvious  and  notorious,  but  are 
not  described  or  specified.  What  were  those  defects,  so  noto- 
rious that  there  was  no  need  of  naming  them?  It  is  affirmed 
that  those  defects,  whatever  they  may  have  been,  "  arise  from 
the  want  of  a  more  explicit  asserting  of  the  rules  given  for  that 
end  in  the  Holy  Scriptures."  What  rules  for  the  discipline  of 
the  churches, are  those  which,  as  the  frarners  of  this  ordinance 
thought,  are  given  in  the  scriptures,  but  which  were  not  suffi- 
ciently asserted  in  the  then  existing  platform  of  the  Connecti- 
cut churches?  It  was  expected  that  from  the  more  explicit  as- 
sertion of  those  rules,  there  would  arise  ''a  permanent  estab- 
lishment" in  Connecticut.  What  was  the  meaning  of  that 
phrase  "  permanent  establishment  ?"  Establishment — of  what  ? 
And  how  was  that  expected  establishment  to  differ  from  the 
establishment  then  existing?  It  was  furthermore  expected  that 
from  this  more  explicit  asserting  of  scriptural  rules,  there  would 
arise  "  a  good  and  regular  issue  in  cases  subject  to  ecclesiasti- 
cal discipline,"  as  well  as  "  glory  to  Christ  and  edification  to 
his  members."  What  did  this  language  mean  as  used  by  the 
framers  of  the  ordinance  ?  If  we  can  fairly  answer  these  ques- 
tions I  think  we  shall  understand  the  views  and  aims  of  the 
men  who  projected  the  Saybrook  synod. 

We  may  get  some  help  in  our  exegesis  by  remembering  what 
former  synods  had  been  held  in  New  England,  and  with  what 
results.  The  first — that  of  1637 — was  held  that  the  churches, 
and  their  ministers,  might  come,  by  discussion  and  fraternal 
consultation  to  some  united  judgment  concerning  an  enthusias- 
tic antinomianism,  which  had  become  a  perilous  and  disorgan- 
izing heresy  in  the  Boston  church,  and  was  mixing  itself  dis- 
astrously with  all  the  interests  of  the  colonies.  The  second — 
that  which  met  in  1647,  and  again  by  adjournment  in  1648 — 
was  called  to  digest  and  set  forth  a  system  of  principles  for  the 
guidance  of  the  churches  in  matters  of  discipline,  and  its  result 
was  the  Cambridge  Platform.  In  this  as  well  as  at  the  first  sy- 


15 

nod,  the  churches,  not  of  Massachusetts  only,  but  of  the  other 
colonies,  were   represented.     The  platform  elaborated  by  the 
synod  had  not  indeed  the  authority  of  a  constitution   or  of  a 
code  of  laws  ;  it  was  law  to  the  churches,  only  in  the  sense  in 
which  Kent's  Commentaries  or    Story  on  the  Constitution  is 
law  to  courts  of  justice.     It  was  nothing  else  than  an  "  expli- 
cit asserting"  of  rules  given  in  the  scriptures.     As  such  it  was 
accepted  in  Connecticut  not  less  than  in  Massachusetts,  and  was 
held  to  be  full  and  sufficient  for  the  guidance  of  churches  in 
their  self-government,   and  in  their   relations  to   each   other. 
Even  now,  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  two  hundred  years,  that 
platform,  (notwithstanding  its  errors  here  and  there  in  the  ap- 
plication of  proof  texts,  and  its  one  great  error  in  regard  to  the 
power  of  the   civil  magistrate  in  matters   of  religion,)  is  the 
most  authentic  exposition  of  the  Congregational  church  order 
as  given  in  the  scriptures.     At  first,  it  was  the  more  effectually 
commended  to  general  acceptance  because  it  was  understood 
as  having  satisfactorily  adjusted  whatever  differences  on    the 
subject  of  church  discipline  had  been  developed  in  New  Eng- 
land.    But  not  many  years  had  passed,  when  difficulties  arose 
in  the  churches  on  the  Connecticut,  and  especially  in  the  Hart- 
ford church,  from  which   the  admired  and  venerated  Thomas 
Hooker  had  recently  been  removed  by  death.     That  passage 
in  our  church  history  is  an  obscure  one,  the  documents  by 
which  it  might  be  illustrated  having  mostly  perished.     But  we 
may  be   sure  the  conflict  was  not  by  any  means  a  merely  per- 
sonal collision  between  the  Teaching  Elder  Stone  and  the  Ru- 
ling Elder  Goodwin,  or  between  any  other  individuals  who 
were  involved  in  it.     Whatever  may  have  been  the  beginning 
of  it,  the  controversy  itself  was  a  conflict  between  opposite 
principles  of  ecclesiastical   order.     It  is  often  said  that  there 
was  a  Presbyterian  element   or  tendency  among  the  original 
Puritans  of  New  England  ;  and  so  there  was,  but  what  was  it  ? 
None  but  the  shallowest  and  most  ignorant  readers  of  our  his- 


16 

tory  will  undertake  to  find  that  Presbyterian  element  in  the 
fact  that  every  church  was  to  have  its  eldership,  including  one 
at  least  beside  the  teaching  elders ;  nor  in  the  fact  that  the 
Cambridge  Platform  insists  on  the  duties  of  churches  toward 
each  other.  Neither  of  these  facts  has  any  relation  to  the  dif- 
ference between  the  Presbyterianism  of  that  age,  and  '•'  the 
Congregational  way."  Some  of  the  first  ministers  of  New 
England  were  avowed  Presbyterians.  Such  were  Thomas 
Parker  of  Newbury,  and  his  kinsman  and  colleague  James 
Noyes,  the  father  of  the  two  Noyeses  in  our  Saybrook  synod. 
Such  was  also  John  Woodbridge,  first  of  Andover.  and  after- 
wards of  Newbury,  another  kinsman  of  Thomas  Parker,  and 
the  father  of  that  Timothy  Woodbridge  who  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  our  synod.  Others  were  semi-presbyterians,  or  infected 
with  a  presbyterian  tendency.  Such  was  Samuel  Stone,  the 
famous  colleague  of  the  more  famous  Hooker.  He  appears  to 
have  held  firmly  enough  the  principle  that  all  church  power 
inheres  in  every  organized  local  church  ;  but  his  Presbyterian 
tendency  is  intimated  by  the  tradition  which  imputes  to  him 
the  saying  that  "  a  church  is  a  speaking  aristocracy  in  the  face 
of  a  silent  democracy."  The  elders  only  were  to  speak  in  the 
transaction  of  church  affairs ;  the  brethren  were  to  give  their 
consent  in  silence.  While  Thomas  Hooker  lived,  the  presby- 
terianizing  tendency  in  his  colleague  teacher  was  effectually 
counteracted,  or  perhaps  was  not  developed.  But  soon  after  the 
first  pastor's  death,  the  conflict  of  opinions  in  that  most  important 
church  began.  And  soon,  as  all  the  traces  of  the  story  show, 
the  conflict  involved  not  only  the  rights  and  functions  of  the 
brotherhood  in  the  government  of  the  church,  but  also  the 
qualifications  for  baptism,  and  the  conditions  and  nature  of 
church-membership.  Soon,  thoughtful  men,  in  various  parts 
of  New  England,  were  able  to  discern  hovv  far  the  influence 
of  the  principles  that  had  been  newly  broached  at  Hartford 
might  extend,  and  how  perilous  a  defection  from  the  Congre- 


17 

gational  way  was  impending.  The  demand  for  a  promiscuous 
administration  of  baptism  after  the  way  of  national  churches, 
and  for  the  recognized  church-membership  of  all  baptized  per- 
sons not  convicted  of  some  overt  and  positive  offence,  had  been 
peeped  and  muttered  elsewhere,  but  had  been  suppressed  with- 
out much  trouble.  It  has  been  often  alleged,  that  this  de- 
mand originated  in  the  unwise  exclusion  of  all  but  church 
members  from  participation  in  political  power,  and  that  a 
reasonable  extension  of  the  right  of  suffrage  would  have 
silenced  the  demand.  But  on  such  a  theory  how  is  it  to  be 
explained  that  the  troubles  which  the  theory  accounts  for,  be- 
gan in  just  that  colony  in  which  no  such  exclusion  had  ever 
been  established  or  attempted  ?  No  ;  the  controversy  which 
agitated  the  churches  on  the  river,  however  it  may  have  been 
embittered  by  political  interests,  as  well  as  by  personal  feel- 
ings, was  essentially  nothing  else  than  the  fermentation  of 
that  leaven  of  Presbyterianism  which  came  over  not  with  the 
Pilgrims  in  the  Mayflower,  but  with  the  later  Puritan  emigra- 
tion, and  which  the  Cambridge  Platform,  with  all  its  explicit- 
ness  in  asserting  the  rules  given  in  the  Scriptures,  had  not 
effectually  purged  out. 

That  local  controversy  at  Hartford  and  Wethersfield,  gave 
origin  to  the  third  New  England  Synod.  Once  and  again  the 
General  Court  of  the  colony  had  interposed  in  vain.  Council 
after  council  had  given  advice  in  vain.  At  last,  at  the  request 
of  the  government  in  Connecticut,  the  government  of  Massa- 
chusetts gave  out  the  invitation  for  a  synod,  which  was  con- 
vened in  1657.  Twenty-one  questions  "about  church  af- 
fairs," and  especially  about  the  relation  of  baptized  persons  as 
such  to  the  church,  had  been  sent  from  Connecticut  to  Massa- 
chusetts, and  were  the  subject  matter  on  which  the  synod  was 
to  give  light.  In  one  respect  this  differed  from  the  two  for- 
mer synods.  Instead  of  being  a  general  convention  of  "  el- 
ders and  other  messengers  "  from  the  churches,  it  was  rather  a 
4 


18 

select  assembly  of  divines,  commissioned  by  the  several  gov- 
ernments. Twelve  eminent  elders  were  appointed  by  the 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts.  Four,  viz  :  the  aged  War- 
ham,  of  Windsor,  Stone,  of  Hartford,  Blinman,  of  New  Lon- 
don, and  Russell  of  Wethersfield,  (the  father  of  that  Samuel 
Russell  who  was  a  member  of  our  Saybrook  synod,)  were 
commissioned  from  Connecticut.  But  the  General  Court  of 
the  New  Haven  jurisdiction  having,  "  seriously  considered  " 
the  matter,  "  with  the  help  of  such  elders  as  were  present," 
declined  the  invitation  in  a  courteous  but  significant  letter, 
which  they  carefully  put  upon  their  own  records.  They  had 
"  heard  of  some  petitions  and  questions  at  first  unwarrantably 
procured  and  presented  at  Connecticut,  but  since,  under  the 
name  of  liberty,  offensively  if  not  mutinously  prosecuted." 
They  "  approved  the  readiness  "  of  Massachusetts  "  to  afford 
help  when  the  case  requires  it,  yet  themselves  conceive  that 
the  elders  of  Connecticut  colony,  with  due  assistance  from 
their  court,  had  been  fully  sufficient  to  clear  and  maintain  the 
truth,  and  to  suppress  the  boldness  of  such  petitioners,  without 
calling  a  synod  or  any  such  meeting,  which  in  such  times  may 
prove  dangerous  to  the  purity  and  peace  of  these  churches  and 
colonies."  They  say,  "  We  hear  the  petitioners,  or  others 
closing  with  them,  are  very  confident  they  shall  obtain  great 
alterations  both  in  civil  government  and  in  church  discipline, 
and  that  some  of  them  have  procured  and  hired  one  as  their 
agent,  to  maintain  in  writing  (as  is  conceived,)  that  parishes 
in  England,  consenting  to  and  continuing  their  meetings  to 
worship  God,  are  true  churches,  and  such  persons  coming  over 
hither,  (without  holding  forth  any  work  of  faith,  &c.,)  have 
right  to  all  church  privileges.  And  probably  they  expect  their 
deputy  should  employ  himself  and  improve  his  interests,  to 
spread  and  press  such  paradoxes  in  the  Massachusetts,  yea  at  the 
synod  or  meeting."  Intimating  the  probability  that  "some 
in  all  the  colonies,  affecting  such  liberty,  may  too  readily 


19 

hearken  and  comply,"  they  at  the  same  time  expressed  their 
hope  that  the  "general  courts  who  have  framed  their  civil  pol- 
ity and  laws  according  to  the  rules  of  God's  most  holy  word, 
and  the  elders  and  churches  who  have  gathered  and  received 
their  discipline  out  of  the  same  holy  Scriptures,  will  unani- 
mously improve  their  power,  and  endeavor  to  preserve  the  same 
inviolably."  They  refer  to  the  condition  of  their  churches, 
weakened  within  a  few  years  by  the  removal  or  death  of  sev- 
eral elders,  whose  places  had  not  been  supplied,  and  to  "  Mr. 
Davenport's  personal  unfitness  for  so  long  a  journey  in  the 
heat  of  summer,"  as  showing  that  "  it  would  be  very  inconve- 
nient for  them  to  send  or  spare  any  of  their  remaining  teach- 
ing officers  to  a  service  like  to  require  much  time."  At  the 
same  time  the  elders  of  that  jurisdiction  have  perused  the 
twenty-one  questions  that  are  to  be  considered  by  the  synod ; 
and  their  answer,  "drawn  up  by  Mr.  Davenport,"  and  "fully 
approved  "  by  the  court,  is  sent  with  the  letter,  and  so  the 
whole  matter  is  by  them  devoutly  commended  to  God,  "  without 
whose  special  blessing,  (according  to  the  present  state  and  frame 
of  things  in  Connecticut  colony,  which  may  soon  spread  farther,) 
such  a  meeting  if  it  hold,  may  produce  sad  effects."*  How 
much  effect  this  indirect  but  strong  remonstrance  had  upon  the 
meeting  in  its  discussions  and  conclusions,  does  not  distinctly 
appear.  The  result  of  the  meeting  was  to  some  extent,  (per- 
haps not  entirely,)  what  the  New  Haven  authorities,  civil  and 
ecclesiastical,  had  feared  ;  for  that  meeting  of  divines  first  gave 
authority  and  credit  to  the  notion  of  what  afterwards  became 
so  celebrated  in  our  church  history,  under  the  name  of  the 
"half  way  covenant." 

At  first  the  churches  seem  not  to  have  accepted  at  all  the 
new  principle  which  had  been  commended  to  them.  But  the 
proposal  struck  the  previously  existing  system  just  at  its  weak- 

*  New  Haven  Colonial  Eecords,  (C.  J.  Hoadly,)  vol.  ii,  pp.  195,  198. 


20 

est  point.  Some  modification  of  what  had  been,  till  then, 
the  actual  working  of  the  Congregational  church  order,  was 
inevitable.  Two  serious  inconveniences  (to  use  the  softest 
phrase)  had  been  developed  in  attempting  to  carry  into  effect 
that  cardinal  principle,  that  "  saints  by  calling"  are  the  only  fit 
material  of  a  church.  First,  there  was  felt  to  be  a  necessity 
for  some  arrangement  that  should  recognize  the  obvious  rights 
of  those  who,  while  they  were  required  to  aid  in  the  support 
of  the  ministry,  had  no  voice  or  power  in  the  election  of  the 
ministers — the  class  whose  rights  are  now  amply  guarded  in 
the  constitution  and  powers  of  our  parishes  or  ecclesiastical 
societies  ;  and,  secondly,  there  must  needs  be  some  arrangement 
that  should  recognize  the  Christian  standing  of  those  other- 
wise Christian  people,  who  misled  by  inadequate  or  erroneous 
views  of  religious  experience,  or  trying  their  own  experience 
by  traditional  and  technical  methods,  or  for  any  other  reason, 
dared  not  profess  that  they  had  been  effectually  called  by  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit — a  class  of  worshipers  whom  we  now 
endeavor  to  instruct  and  guide  by  setting  before  them  the  prima- 
ry act  of  repentance  towards  God  and  of  trust  in  Christ,  not  mere- 
ly as  an  experience  to  be  waited  for,  but  rather  as  an  immediate 
and  urgent  duty,  and  by  illustrating  in  every  way  the  simpli- 
city, and  (so  far  as  consciousness  reaches)  the  naturalness  of  a 
truly  Christian  experience.  The  expedient  of  recognizing  a 
qualified  church-membership  in  all  baptized  persons,  not  only 
during  their  childhood,  but  after  coming  to  maturity,  and  of 
inviting  them  to  assume  and  renew  the  engagements  that  were 
made  for  them  in  their  baptism,  and  to  bind  themselves  by  a 
public  religious  vow  to  live  a  Christian  life,  without  any  pro- 
fession of  a  Christian  experience, — aggravated,  instead  of  expo- 
sing to  refutation,  the  religious  and  theological  error  from  which 
it  sprung.  Thus  the  synod  of  1656  prepared  the  way  for 
another  which  was  assembled  only  six  years  afterwards. 

Under  the  continued  and  growing  pressure  of  the  difficulties 


21 

which  I  have  just  mentioned,  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts issued  an  order  for  a  general  synod  of  elders  and  messen- 
gers from  all  the  churches  of  that  colony.  That  fourth  synod 
met  at  Boston  in  1662.  Two  questions  only  were  referred  to 
it  for  discussion  and  decision  : — first,  "  Who  are  the  subjects 
of  baptism  ?" — and  secondly,  "  Whether  according  to  the  word 
of  God  there  ought  to  be  a  consociation  of  churches,  and 
what  should  be  the  manner  of  it?"  After  much  deliberation 
and  debate,  the  synod  gave  its  answer,  not  unanimously,  but 
by  a  vote  of  more  than  seven  to  one,  as  reported  by  Cotton  Ma- 
ther. Yet  in  that  small  minority  there  were  "  several  reverend 
and  judicious  persons,"  whose  dissent  greatly  impaired  the  force 
of  the  result.  Most  of  the  seven  "  propositions  "  in  which  the 
judgment  of  the  majority  concerning  the  subjects  of  baptism  was 
summed  up,  are  substantially  accordant  with  what  I  suppose 
to  be  the  ordinary  practice  in  our  churches  at  the  present 
time.  But  the  fifth  of  those  propositions  reaffirmed  and  com- 
mended to  the  churches  the  crude  expedient  of  the  half-way 
covenant.*  It  did  not  merely  provide  that  baptized  persons 
growing  up  in  the  bosom  of  the  church  with  blameless  char- 
acter, and  without  any  overt  denial  of  the  faith  in  which  they 
were  nurtured,  might  offer  their  children  for  baptism  without 
being  required  to  demand  and  obtain  at  the  same  time  the 
privilege  of  full  communion.  But  it  also  provided  that  such 
persons,  as  a  condition  preliminary  to  the  baptism  of  their 
children,  should  make  a  certain  public  profession  of  Christian 
faith  and  Christian  obedience,  including  a  formal  covenant  with 
God  and  with  the  church,  which  at  the  same  time  was  to  be 
understood  as  implying  no  profession  of  any  Christian  experi- 


*  "  Church  members  who  were  admitted  in  minority,  understanding  the  doctrine  of 
faith,  and  publicly  professing  their  assent  thereto;  not  scandalous  in  life;  and 
solemnly  owning  the  covenant  before  the  church,  wherein  they  give  up  themselves 
and  children  to  the  Lord,  and  subject  themselves  to  the  government  of  Christ  in  the 
church, — their  children  are  to  be  baptized." 


22 

ence.  The  former,  by  itself,  might  have  been  a  comparatively 
harmless  innovation.  The  latter  was  a  grave  theological  error, 
hardening  and  establishing  itself  in  the  form  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical system. 

Neither  of  the  two  western  colonies  was  represented  in  that 
synod.  Connecticut  was  occupied  just  then  with  the  excite- 
ment of  receiving  its  charter  from  the  king,  and  with  the  effort 
to  extinguish  the  independent  jurisdiction  of  the  New  Haven 
colony,  in  which  there  was  a  strong  and  united  opposition  to  the 
principles  that  seemed  likely  to  prevail.  But  as  soon  as  it  had 
become  certain  that  New  Haven  was  under  a  necessity  of 
giving  up  its  independence,  and  that  a  new  and  greater  danger, 
impending  over  all  the  colonies,  would  compel  those  towns 
to  take  refuge  under  the  charter,  the  General  Court  of  Con- 
necticut availed  itself  of  the  opportunity  to  give  a  very  explicit 
sanction  to  the  new  principle  of  church-membership,  com- 
mending it  to  all  the  ministers  and  churches,  for  adoption,  as 
a  rule  of  practice.  It  even  "  desired  that  the  several  officers 
of  the  respective  churches  would  be  pleased  to  consider  whe- 
ther it  be  not  the  duty  of  the  court  to  order  the  churches  to 
practice  according  to  the  premises,  if  they  do  not  practice 
without  such  order."*  Here  is  evidence  not  only  that  the  old 
way  of  the  churches  was  to  be  subverted,  but  also  that  the 
churches  were  slow  in  yielding  to  the  outside  pressure.  Had 
they  stood  upon  their  congregational  independency  alone,  they 
would  not  have  submitted. 

Less  than  two  years  after  that  intermeddling  of  the  legisla- 
ture with  a  purely  ecclesiastical  question,  the  difficulties  that 
had  so  long  existed  in  the  church  at  Hartford,  were  coining  to 
a  crisis.  John  Whiting,  a  son  of  one  of  the  wealthiest  and 
most  honored  among  the  first  planters  of  Hartford,  and  Joseph 
Haynes,  a  son  of  the  first  governor  of  that  colony,  had  be- 

,  _    *  Colonial  Becords  of  Conn.,  (J.  H.  Trurubull,)  vol.  i,  438.    ? 


23 

come  the  successors  of  Hooker  and  Stone.  Both  were  young ; 
Whiting  thirty-one  years  old,  and  Haynes  only  twenty-live. 
A  letter  from  John  Davenport  to  Gov.  Wihthrop,  dated  June 
14,  [24J  1666,  gives  us  some  insight  into  the  state  and  pro- 
gress of  the  controversy.  "  I  feel  at  my  heart,"  said  the  stiff 
old  Congregationalist,  "no  small  sorrow  for  the  public  divi- 
sions and  distractions  at  Hartford.  Were  Mr.  Hooker  now  in 
v  vis,  it  would  be  as  a  sword  in  his  bones  that  the  church 
which  he  had  planted  there  should  be  thus  disturbed  by  inno- 
vations brought  in  and  urged  so  vehemently  by  his  young  suc- 
cessor in  office,  not  in  spirit ;  who  was  so  far  from  these  lax 
ways  that  he  opposed  the  baptizing  of  grandchildren  by  their 
grandfathers'  right."  "  But  he  is  at  rest ;  and  the  people 
there  grow  wofully  divided,  and  the  better  sort  are  exceedingly 
grieved,  while  the  looser  and  worser  party  insult,  hoping  that 
it  will  be  as  they  would  have  it,  viz  :  that  the  plantations  shall 
be  brought  into  a  parish  way,  against  which  Mr.  Hooker  hath 
openly  borne  a  strong  testimony  in  print.  The  most  of  the 
churches  in  this  jurisdiction  are  professedly  against  this  new 
way,  both  in  judgment  and  practice,  upon  gospel  grounds, 
namely :  New  Haven,  Milford,  Stratford,  Branford,  Guilford, 
Norwalk,  Stamford,  and  those  nearer  to  Hartford,  namely  Farm- 
ington,  and  the  sounder  portion  of  Windsor,  together  with  their 
reverend  pastor  Mr.  Warham,  and  I  think  Mr.  Fitch  and  his 
church  also."  Probably  the  writer  suspected,  if  he  did  not 
positively  know,  that  his  friend  the  governor  was  prudently 
favoring  the  innovation.  If  so,  we  can  easily  understand  the 
reason  of  his  writing  just  in  this  vein.  After  having  intimated 
that  he  and  others  who  were  of  the  same  opinion,  could  not 
be  expected  to  continue  silent  when  "  the  faith  and  order  of 
the  churches  of  Christ "  were  to  be  contended  for  ;  and  having 
made  allusion  to  the  work  which  he  had  published  against  the 
propositions  of  "  the  Bay-Synod,"  and  to  another  book  of  his 
on  the  same  theme,  which  remained  unpublished,  he  proceeds 


24 

to  let  the  governor  know  how  the  facts  then  recent  at  Hartford, 
seemed,  when  reported  at  a  distance.  "  I  shall  briefly  sug- 
gest unto  you  what  I  have  heard,  viz  :  that  before  the  last 
lecture-day,  when  it  was  young  Mr.  Haynes'  turn  to  preach, 
he  sent  three  of  his  party  to  tell  Mr.  Whiting,  that  the  next 
lecture-day  he  would  preach  about  his  way  of  baptizing,  and 
would  begin  the  practising  of  it  on  that  day.  Accordingly  he 
preached,  and  water  was  prepared  for  baptism,  (which  I 
suppose  was  never  administered  in  a  week-day  in  that  church 
before,)  but  Mr.  Whiting,  as  his  place  and  duty  required,  testi- 
fied against  it,  and  refused  to  consent  to  it.  Much  was  spoken 
to  little  purpose  by  some  of  Mr.  Haynes'  party.  [The  "  silent 
democracy  "  had  found  their  tongues.]  But  when  Mr.  War- 
ham  began  to  speak,  one  of  the  church  rudely  hindered  him, 
saying  to  this  purpose,  'What  hath  Mr.  Warham  to  do  to  speak 
in  our  church  matters  ?'  This  check  stopped  Mr.  Warham's 
proceeding  at  that  time."  The  writer  then  interrupts  his  nar- 
rative to  show  that  inasmuch  as  the  matter  in  hand  con- 
cerned not  that  church  only,  but  was  "  of  common  concern- 
ment to  all  the  churches  in  these  parts,"  Mr.  Warham  ought 
to  have  been  heard ;  "  but,"  he  adds,  with  something  of 
an  old  man's  querulousness,  "  we  live  in  times  and  places 
when  the  faces  of  the  elders  are  not  duly  honored."  Resu- 
ming his  narrative,  he  says,  "  Yourself  prudently  concluded  that 
that  day  was  not  a  fit  season  to  begin  their  purposed  practice, 
seeing  it  was  not  consented  to  but  opposed.  And  so  it  ceased 
for  that  time."  He  then  proceeds  to  expostulate  against  an 
arrangement  which,  as  he  was  informed,  had  been  made  for  a 
public  dispute  between  the  two  ministers  on  the  next  lecture 
day,  and  to  propose  in  place  of  it,  a  written  discussion  of  the 
question.  Of  the  former  plan  he  says,  "  No  good  issue  can  ra- 
tionally be  expected  of  a  verbal  dispute,  at  that  time,  and  in 
that  place,  where  so  many  are  likely  to  disturb  the  business 
with  interruptions  and  clamors,  and  to  prepare  a  sufficient 


25 

number  to  overvote  the  better  party,  for  the  establishment  of 
the  worser  way.  So  truth  shall  be  dethroned,  and  error  set 
up  in  the  throne."  Of  his  own  plan  he  says,  "This  is  the 
most  suitable  way  for  a  peaceable  issuing  of  the  dispute,  with 
solid  judgment,  and  with  due  moderation  and  satisfaction ; 
and  let  all  practice  of  Mr.  Haynes'  opinion  be  forborne  till  the 
truth  be  cleared.  But  if  Mr.  Haynes  refuseth  this  way,  I 
shall  suspect  that  he  more  confides  in  the  clamors  of  his  party 
than  in  the  goodness  of  his  cause,  or  in  the  strength  of  his 
arguments,  or  in  his  ability  for  disputation."*  What  the  result 
was  of  young  Mr.  Haynes'  challenge  of  his  colleague  to  a 
public  dispute,  or  of  old  Mr.  Davenport's  gratuitously  offered 
advice,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  except  in  general  that 
Mr.  Haynes  and  "  his  way  of  baptizing,"  were  in  the  major- 
ity ;  and  that  three  years  afterwards  Mr.  Whiting  and  his  ad- 
herents, under  the  advice  of  a  council  of  elders,  and  with  a 
full  permission  from  the  General  Court,  withdrew  from  the 
original  church  in  Hartford,  for  the  sake  of  "practicing  the 
Congregational  way."  In  the  preamble  to  the  covenant 
which  they  adopted  on  the  day  of  their  being  formally  con- 
stituted a  distinct  church,  (Feb.  12,  [22]  1670,)  the  seceding 
party  made  a  distinct  profession  of  the  Congregationalism, 
from  which  the  First  church  had  departed.  "  Public  opposi- 
tion and  disturbance,"  such  was  the  language  of  their  pre- 
amble, "  hath  of  late  years  been  given,  both  by  preaching  and 
practice,  to  the  Congregational  way  of  church  order,  by  all 
manner  of  orderly  establishments  settled,  and  for  a  long  time 
unanimously  approved  and  peaceably  practiced  in  this  place." 
"  We,"  therefore,  "  declare  that  according  to  the  light  we  have 
hitherto  received,  the  forementioned  Congregational  way  (for 
the  substance  of  it,)  as  formerly  settled,  professed  and  prac- 
ticed, under  the  guidance  of  the  first  leaders  of  this  church  of 


*  History  and  Genealogy  of  the  Davenport  Family,  pp,  360-864. 

5 


26 

Hartford,  is  the  way  of  Christ."  Their  statement  of  the 
"  main  heads  or  principles  "  which  constitute  and  define  the 
Congregational  way,  though  very  brief,  is  an  exact  summary 
of  the  Congregationalism  which  we  find  asserted  in  the  Cam- 
. bridge  Platform.* 

Notwithstanding  the  strenuousness  of  the  opposition,  and 
the  divisions  among  ministers  and  churches, — of  which  the 
proceedings  at  Hartford  are  a  specimen, — the  new  principles 
•  and  practice  gradually  prevailed.  There  was  no  longer  any 
pretense  that  the  new  way  was  really  and  simply  the  Congre- 
gational way.  In  1676,  the  ecclesiastical  and  religious  character 
of  Connecticut  was  officially  represented  to  the  Lords  of  trade  and 
plantations,  in  these  words  :  "  Our  people,  in  this  colony,  are 
some  of  them  strict  Congregational  men,  others  more  large 
Congregational  men,  and  some  moderate  Presbyterians.  The 
Congregational  men  of  both  sorts  are  the  greatest  part  of  the 
people  of  the  colony.  There  are  four  or  five  Seventh-day 
men,  and  about  so  many  more  Quakers."  A  very  intelligible 
classification  in  the  light  of  what  we  know  about  the  eccle- 
siastical movement  then  in  progress  !  The  new  system  was 
"  LARGE  Congregationalism,"  with  some  not  yet  assimilated 
mixture  of  "moderate  Presbyterianism ;"  and  the  "strictness" 
of  the  old  Congregational  way  was  gradually  failing  and 
dying  out.  As  the  aged  ministers  and  other  old  men,  honored 
and  influential,  who  had  resisted  the  conclusions  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts synod,  passed  away,  the  half-way  covenant  came  in 
with  the  new  generation  of  pastors  and  church  members. 

From  the  first,  the  predominating  influence  in  the  govern- 
ment seems  to  have  favored  the  new  system.  I  have  already  men- 
tioned one  instance  of  direct  legislative  intermeddling,  which 
occured  even  before  the  absorption  of  the  New  Haven  colony 
by  Connecticut  had  been  quite  consummated.  Another  in- 
stance took  place  in  1666,  while  Mr.  Whiting  and  Mr.  Haynes, 

*  Trumbull's  History,  vol.  i,  pp.  461-463. 


27 

in  the  church  at  Hartford,  were  at  the  hight  of  their  dispute. 
At  that  time  the  General  Court  undertook  to  force  the  new 
system  into  operation  by  means  of  a  clerical  convention,  in- 
cluding all  the  teaching  elders  in  the  colony,  together  with 
those  ministers  who,  like  the  two  Noyeses,  were  settled  in 
towns  where  no  churches  had  been  gathered,  to  whom  were  to 
be  added  four  from  Massachusetts,  selected  and  invited  by  the 
same  authority.  At  first  it  was  thought  that  such  a  conven- 
tion might  be  made  to  pass  for  a  synod,  and  it  was  so  denom- 
inated in  the  order.  But  the  jealousy  of  the  churches  having 
had  time  to  manifest  itself,  the  name  was  changed,  and  by  a 
new  order  the  meeting  was  required  to  take  the  humbler  title 
of  "an  assembly  of  the  ministers  of  this  colony."  The 
whole  movement,  however,  notwithstanding  this  timely  con- 
cession, seems  not  to  have  proceeded  according  to  the  inten- 
tion of  its  authors,  and  after  one  session,  [May,  1667]  in  which 
it  became  manifest  that  the  ministers  were  not  very  manage- 
able, the  assembly  was  quietly  and  adroitly  got  rid  of  before 
the  time  arrived  to  which  it  had  adjourned  itself. 

The  next  year  a  different  movement  was  made.  Four  min- 
isters, one  from  each  county,*  were  commissioned  to  meet  at 
Saybrook,  "to  consider  of  some  expedient  for  our  peace,  by 
searching  out  the  rule,  and  thereby  clearing  up  how  far  the 
churches  and  people  may  walk  together  within  themselves, 
and  one  with  another,  in  the  fellowship  and  order  of  the  Gos- 
pel, notwithstanding  some  various  apprehensions  among  them 
in  matters  of  discipline  respecting  membership  and  baptism, 
&c."  Those  commissioners  made  their  report  in  May,  1669, 
but  what  it  was  does  not  appear.  No  trace  of  it  can  be  found, 
save  one  enactment  which  stands  upon  the  record  of  that  ses- 
sion, and  which  appears  to  have  been  intended  as  a  comprom- 
ise. The  preamble  of  that  act  refers  to  the  great  divisions 


*  The  ministers  appointed  were  James  Fitch,  of  Norwich,  Gershom  Bulkley,  of 
Wethersfield,  Joseph  Eliot,  of  Guilford,  and  Samuel  Wakeman,  of  Fairfleld. 


28 

in  the  colony  "  about  matters  of  church  government."  Moved 
by  a  regard  "  for  the  honor  of  God,"  for  the  "  welfare  of  the 
churches,"  and  for  "  the  public  peace  so  greatly  endangered," 
the  court  undertakes  to  pronounce  upon  the  matter.  First, 
"  This  Court  do  declare,  that  whereas  the  Congregational 
churches  in  these  parts,  for  the  general  of  their  profession  and 
practice,  have  hitherto  been  approved,  we  can  do  no  less  than 
still  approve  and  countenance  the  same  to  be  without  disturb- 
ance until  better  light  in  an  orderly  way  doth  appear."  Is 
there  not  something  particularly  significant  in  this?  "The 
Congregational  Churches  in  these  parts,"  whose  way  was  mark- 
ed out  and  defended  by  Hooker  and  Davenport,  as  well  as  by 
Cotton  and  the  authors  of  the  Cambridge  Platform,  have  hith- 
erto been  approved  "  for  the  general  of  their  profession  and 
practice,"  and  therefore  their  liberty  to  continue  in  their  course 
is  to  be  undisturbed  "  until  better  light  in  an  orderly  way  doth 
appear."  But  this  intimation  of  another  ecclesiastical  system 
looming  in  the  future  is  not  all.  In  the  second  place,  "For- 
asmuch as  sundry  persons  of  worth  for  prudence  and  piety 
amongst  us  are  otherwise  persuaded,  (whose  welfare  and  peace- 
able satisfaction  we  desire  to  accommodate,)  this  Court  doth 
declare  that  all  such  persons,  being  also  approved  according  to 
law  as  orthodox  and  sound  in  the  fundamentals  of  Christian 
religion,  may  have  allowance  of  their  persuasion  and  profes- 
sion in  church  ways  or  assemblies  without  disturbance."  All 
this  was  right  undoubtedly.  But  it  shows,  plainly  enough, 
that  the  deplored  divisions  about  church  government  were 
caused  by  the  strong  preference  which  "sundry  persons  of  worth 
for  prudence  and  piety"  had  manifested  for  a  new  ecclesiastical 
system  which  was  not  Congregationalism.  That  system  was 
old  in  the  old  world,  but  new  in  New  England.  It  was  the 
system  of  all  national  churches,  and  therefore  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian party  in  the  Long  Parliament  and  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly. It  was  what  Davenport  called  the  "  parish  way" — a  sys- 


23 

tem  under  which  the  local  church,  as  a  covenanted  brother- 
hood of  souls  renewed  by  the  experience  of  God's  grace,  was 
to  be  merged  in  the  parish  ;  and  all  persons  of  good  moral 
character  living  within  the  parochial  bounds,  were  to  have,  as 
in  England  and  Scotland,  the  privilege  of  baptism  for  their 
households,  and  of  access  to  the  Lord's  table.* 

From  that  time,  the  Legislature  seems  not  to  have  meddled 
again  directly  with  the  question,  being  satisfied,  perhaps,  that 
time  would  bring  the  change  so  much  desired.  And  time  did 
bring  the  change.  It  is  difficult  to  say  where  the  resistance 
to  the  half-way  covenant  ceased.  Gradually,  the  churches, 
weary  of  contention,  fell  into  the  new  way  for  the  sake  of 
peace.  Perhaps  the  great  movement  for  a  moral  and  religious 
reformation,  inaugurated  in  Massachusetts  by  the  reforming  synod 
(as  it  is  called) of  1679-80,  with  those  solemn  co venantings  which 
ensued,  contributed  something  to  the  change.  The  church  at 
New  Haven,  I  suspect,  yielded  at  or  soon  after  the  ordination 
of  Mr.  Pierpont  in  1684.  Near  the  close  of  the  century  when 
Haynes  and  Whiting  had  been  succeeded  by  Woodbridge  in 
the  First  church,  and  Buckingham  in  the  Second,  we  find 
both  pastors  and  both  churches  united  in  the  half-way  cove- 
nant method  of  churchdiscipline.  The  principles  of  the  synod 
of  1662  were  for  the  time  victorious  throughout  New  England  ; 

*  "At  a  Court  of  Election  held  at  Hartford,  May  13th,  1669" 

******** 

"  The  return  of  the  Keverend  Mr.  James  Fitch,  Mr.  Buckley,  Mr.  Wakeman  and 
Mr.  Eliot  was  read  in  this  Court,  and  left  upon  the  file" 

******** 

"  This  Court  having  seriously  considered  the  great  divisions  that  arise  amongst  us 
about  matters  of  Church  government,  for  the  honor  of  God,  welfare  of  the  churches, 
and  preservation  of  the  public  peace  so  greatly  hazarded,  do  declare  that  whereas  the 
Congregational  churches  in  these  parts,  for  the  general  of  their  profession  and  prac- 
tice have  hitherto  been  approved,  we  can  do  no  less  than  still  approve  and  counte- 
nance the  same  to  be  without  disturbance  until  better  light  in  an  orderly  way  doth  ap- 
pear ;  but  yet  forasmuch  as  sundry  persons  of  worth  for  prudence  and  piety  amongst 
us  are  otherwise  persuaded,  (whose  welfare  and  peaceable  satisfaction  we  desire  to 
accommodate,)  thia  Court  doth  declare  that  all  such  persons,  being  also  approved 
according  to  law  as  orthodox  and  sound  in  the  fundamentals  of  Christian  religion,  may 
have  allowance  of  their  persuasion  and  profession  in  church  ways  or  assemblies 
without  disturbance."  J.  If.  TruinbulVa  Colonial  Records  of  Connecticut 


and  the  new  system  "was  bringing  forth  fruit  after  its  kind,  in 
the  wide  growth  of  a  reliance  on  forms  and  outward  moralities 
as  the  only  attainable  substitute  for  an  unattainable  experience 
of  spiritual  conversion,  and  in  the  development  of  a  porten- 
tous though  unrecognized  tendency  toward  the  hierarchical  and 
sacramentarian  type  of  Christianity.  In  1708,  when  the  Gen- 
eral Court  of  Connecticut  issued  its  rescript  to  convene  our 
Saybrook  synod,  the  venerable  Stoddard,  of  Northampton,  a 
soundly  Calvinistic  divine,  a  faithful  pastor,  an  earnest  and  evan- 
gelical preacher,  had  already  published  his  argument  to  prove 
that  men  confessedly  without  any  spiritual  experience  are  fit 
subjects  of  full  communion  in  the  church,  and  ought  not  to  be 
excluded  from  that  most  important  means  of  spiritual  quicken- 
ing, the  Lord's  Supper,  if  only  they  will  honestly  engage  to  con- 
form their  outward  conduct  to  the  accepted  rules  of  Christian 
morality.  Nor  was  the  principle  for  which  he  argued,  and 
which  afterwards  bore  his  name,  a  novelty  at  that  time  in  New 
England.  Silently,  widely,  and  for  at  least  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  the  practice  had  preceded  the  public  vindication  of  it. 

What  then  remained  to  carry  out  and  finish  the  great  change 
which  had  already  been  achieved  ?  It  will  be  remembered  that 
two  questions  had  been  referred  to  the  Massachusetts  synod  of 
1662.  In  the  great  controversy  and  agitation  that  arose  upon 
the  answer  given  to  the  first  of  those  questions,  the  whole  sub- 
ject matter  of  the  second  seems  to  have  been  for  the  time  for- 
gotten. But  there  was  an  answer  to  the  second  question  and 
in  proportion  as  the  principles  asserted  by  the  synod  in  relation 
to  church  membership  prevail,  and  are  carried  out  to  their  re- 
sults, it  becomes  necessary  to  provide  a  government  not  only  in 
the  churches,  but  over  them.  To  the  question,  "  whether,  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  God,  there  ought  to  be  a  consociation 
of  churches,  and  what  should  be  the  manner  of  it  ?" — the  sy- 
nod of  1662  had  given  a  clear  and  unequivocally  Congrega- 
tional answer.  It  declared  the  entire  and  complete  ecclesiasti- 


31 

cal  power  of  every  local  or  particular  church.  It  re-affirmed, 
with  much  accuracy  of  statement,  the  principles  which  the 
Cambridge  Platform  had  affirmed  concerning  "  the  commun- 
ion of  churches  one  with  another."  It  defined  "the  consoci- 
ation of  churches  "  as  "  their  mutual  and  solemn  agreement  to 
exercise  communion  in  such  acts  as  aforesaid  among  them- 
selves, with  special  reference  to  those  churches  which  by  Prov- 
idence are  planted  in  a  convenient  vicinity,  though  with  liberty 
reserved,  without  offense,  to  make  use  of  others,  as  the  nature  of 
the  case,  or  the  advantage  of  opportunity  may  be  had  thereun- 
to." It  commended  such  consociation  to  "  the  churches  of 
Christ  in  this  country  having  so  good  opportunity  for  it,"  as  a 
duty  urged  upon  them  by  various  considerations  of  expedi- 
ency, and  warranted  by  principles  laid  down  in  texts  of  Holy 
writ.  It  proposed,  as  the  manner  in  which  this  consociation, 
or  explicit  covenant  of  communion  between  churches,  should 
be  effected ;  that  each  church  should  enter  into  the  confedera- 
tion by  giving  its  open  consent  to  these  principles  and  rules  of 
intercourse.  In  Massachusetts,  the  ancient  charter  of  self- 
government  had  been  abrogated,  and  the  colony  had  been 
brought  into  a  stricter  dependence  on  the  king,  before  the  the- 
ory of  the  half-way  covenant  had  obtained  its  full  ascendency 
in  the  churches  ;  and  there  it  could  not  but  be  felt  that  any 
attempt  to  set  up  a  new  and  more  formal  church-establishment, 
might  possibly  result  in  subjecting  all  their  churches  to  Eng- 
lish laws  and  the  English  Episcopacy.  But  in  this  colony 
there  was  a  different  condition  of  affairs,  and  a  different  feeling. 
Here  the  ample  charter  of  political  power,  obtained  by  the  ad- 
mirable diplomacy  of  Winthrop  from  the  easy  good-nature  of 
Charles  II,  and  the  ignorance  or  thoughtlessness  of  his  minis- 
ters, had  been  strangely  continued  in  force  ;  and  a  more  explicit 
ecclesiastical  establishment  might  seem  to  be  as  practicable  as 
it  was  desirable. 

Do  we  not  find,  in  all  this,  some  illustration  to  aid  in  the  in- 


32 

terpretation  of  that  legislative  order  by  which  the  synod  of 
1708  was  convened  at  Saybrook  ?  What  were  the  "  defects  in 
the  discipline  of  the  churches  of  this  government  ?"  What 
need  was  there  of  "  a  more  explicit  asserting  of  the  rules  giv- 
en in  the  Holy  Scrictures  ?"  The  notorious  defects,  and  the 
want  of  a  more  explicit  asserting  of  scriptural  rules,  might  all 
be  summed  up  in  two  facts.  First,  the  old  Congregational 
way  had  been  gradually  given  up,  and  what  they  called  a 
"  large"  Congregationalism — a  loose  half-way  covenant  Congre- 
gationalism, "  moderately  Presbyterian  "  in  its  sympathies  and 
tendencies,  and  more  than  moderately  Presbyterian  in  its  needs, 
had  been  gradually  accepted  ; — and  secondly,  those  loosely  Con- 
gregational churches,  with  all  their  Presbyterian  need  of  gov- 
ernment over  them,  were  independent  of  external  rule.  The 
General  Court,  with  its  constant  intermeddling  in  church  quar- 
rels, could  only  aggravate  the  evils  which  it  could  not  control ; 
and  there  was  no  ecclesiastical  authority  that  could  decide  judi- 
cially and  conclusively.  Here  then  was  the  need  of  a  new  plat- 
form in  order  to  a  more  formal  and  explicit  church  establish- 
ment. "  Strict  Congregationalism,"  whatever  may  be  its  ad- 
vantages in  other  respects,  is,  for  such  purposes,  a  very  incon- 
venient and  intractable  form  of  organic  Christianity. 

The  original  bill  for  that  act  of  the  General  Court — the  ver- 
itable autograph,  as  it  passed  through  the  forms  of  legislation 
one  hundred  and  fifty-one  years  ago,  has  been  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  State.  A  few  days  ago,  I  had  the  opportunity 
of  seeing  it.  The  endorsements  on  that  little  slip  of  paper  tell 
us  that  the  bill  passed  first  in  the  upper  House  (no  date  being 
given) — then,  that  on  the  22d  of  May,  a  committee  of  confer- 
ence was  appointed  in  the  lower  House — then,  that  on  the 
24th  the  bill  passed.  Evidently  there  was  something  in  it 
which  encountered  opposition  among  the  plain  honest  men  of 
democratic  tendencies  and  sympathies,  such  as  have  always 
constituted  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  General  As- 


sembly  of  Connecticut.  Some  of  them  were  evidently  afraid 
that  some  danger  to  liberty,  or  to  the  true  order  of  the  gospel, 
might  be  concealed  in  the  proposal.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  know  what  was  said  in  the  House,  and  what  was  done  in 
the  committee  of  conference.  Did  mere  explanation  satisfy  ? 
Or  was  some  amendment  necessary,  before  the  deputies  from 
the  towns  would  consent  to  the  proposal  which  had  come  from 
Governor  Saltonstallandthe  Assistants?  Turning  from  the  en- 
dorsements to  the  face  of  the  bill,  we  find  one  significant  inti- 
mation. In  its  original  draft,  the  order  required  the  ministers 
of  the  colony  to  meet  at  'their  respective  county  towns  to  con- 
sult and  agree  on  plans  for  the  government  of  the  churches. 
The  words,  "  with  such  messengers  as  the  churches  to  which 
they  belong  shall  see  cause  to  send  with  them,"  are  an  interlin- 
eation. Whoever  may  have  been  the  author  of  this  project, 
the  first  intention  was,  that  a  representative  body  of  ministers, 
convened  by  the  authority  of  the  civil  government,  without 
any  opportunity  given  for  the  churches  to  express  either  ap- 
probation or  dissent,  should  prepare  a  system  or  "  form  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline,"  which  might  be  commended  to  the 
churches,  perhaps  imposed  upon  them,  by  the  legislative  power 
of  the  colony.  By  way  of  afterthought  and  concession,  an 
opportunity  was  given  to  the  churches  to  participate  in  the 
proceeding  by  sending  messengers,  or  to  express  their  disap- 
probation by  refusing  to  send. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  records  of  the  meeting  at  Saybrook 
show  a  very  great  disparity  of  numbers  between  the  ministers 
who  were  present  and  the  messengers  of  the  churches  ;  the 
ratio  of  the  ministers  to  the  messengers  being  that  of  three  to 
one.  How  many  of  the  churches  had  "  seen  cause  "  to  give 
their  sanction  to  the  constituent  county  meetings  by  sending 
their  delegates,  does  not  appear.  Was  it  merely  accidental  tha.t 
from  New  Haven  county  not  one  individual  appeared  as  repre- 
senting any  church  ?  Had  the  old  antipathy  which  the  church- 
6 


34 

es  in  the  New  Haven  jurisdiction  cherished  against  any  possi- 
bility of  subjecting  the  churches  to  the  civil  power,  survived 
so  long  ? 

The  first  act  of  the  synod  was  one  in  which  we  may  be  sure 
they  were  unanimous.  As  yet  there  had  been  in  New  England, 
since  the  synod  of  1637,  no  controversy  or  discussion  properly 
theological.  No  indication  of  any  serious  difference  of  judg- 
ment among  the  churches,  or  among  their  pastors  and  teachers, 
on  any  doctrinal  question,  appears  till  a  much  later  date,  so  far 
as  I  can  remember.  Doubtless,  then,  it  was  with  one  consent, 
and  without  any  demurrer  or  delay,  or  any  suspicion  of  each 
other's  soundness,  that  the  synod  (for  so  it  was  in  some 
sense,  though  it  did  not  formally  represent  the  churches)  ac- 
cepted the  Confession  of  Faith  which  stands  connected  with 
the  Saybrook  Platform.  "  We  agree  that  the  Confession  of 
Faith  owned  and  assented  unto  by  the  elders  and  messengers 
assembled  at  Boston,  in  New  England,  May  12,  1780,  being  the 
second  session  of  that  synod,  be  recommended  to  the  Honora- 
ble General  Assembly  of  this  Colony,  at  the  next  session,  for 
their  public  testimony  thereunto  as  the  faith  of  the  churches  of 
this  Colony."  There  was  no  need  for  them  to  declare,  by  any 
authority  of  their  own,  what  was,  and  ever  had  been  the  doc- 
trinal belief  of  the  churches  of  Connecticut.  But  what  they 
proposed  was  that  the  civil  government  of  the  Colony  should 
give  a  "  public  testimony  "  to  that  well  known  confession — 
originally  drawn  up  by  the  Westminster  Assembly  under  a 
commission  from  the  Long  Parliament ;  then  revised  and  mod- 
ified by  a  meeting  of  Congregational  pastors  and  delegates  con- 
vened at  the  Savoy  in  London  by  the  permission  of  the  Lord 
Protector  Cromwell ;  then  modified  again  by  the  Reforming  Sy- 
nod of  Massachusetts  in  1680,  and  by  them  brought  into  a  near- 
er conformity  with  the  original  Westminster  Confession.  By 
a  "  public  testimony  from  the  civil  government,"  that  confession 
was  to  be  invested  with  a  new  authority  in  Connecticut,  and 


35 

was  to  become  the  doctrinal  basis  of  a  new  ecclesiastical  "  es- 
tablishment." 

The  next  act  of  the  synod,  in  the  order  of  their  report,  is 
given  in  these  words:  "  We  agree  also,  that  the  Heads  of  Agree 
ment  assented  toby  the  United  Ministers,  formerly  called  Pres- 
byterian and  Congregational,  be  observed  by  the  churches 
throughout  this  Colony."  Here  we  find  the  synod  acting,  or 
seeming  to  act,  as  if  it  were  invested  with  full  and  final  power 
to  impose  a  Platform  on  the  churches.  "  We  agree  "  that  a 
certain  code  of  rules  and  principles  "  be  observed  by  the 
churches  throughout  this  Colony."  Doubtless  it  was  a  very 
reasonable  and  proper  thing  for  them  to  agree  in  accepting  and 
approving  the  Heads  of  Agreement.  And  if  they  had  com- 
mended those  Heads  of  Agreement  to  the  churches  for  their 
acceptance  and  adoption,  that  also  would  have  been  a  very 
reasonable  and  proper  thing.  Or  if  they  had  commended  the 
Heads  of  Agreement  to  the  government  of  the  Colony  that  it 
might  be  by  them  incorporated  with  the  basis  of  the  proposed 
religious  establishment,  that  would  have  been  in  full  conform- 
ity with  the  commission  under  which  they  were  sitting  as  a 
synod.  But  that  imperious  phrase,  "  We  agree  that  the  Heads 
of  Agreement  be  observed  by  the  churches  throughout  this  Col- 
ony "  might  seem  to  have  been  an  oversight. 

Those  u  Heads  of  Agreement,  assented  to  by  the  United 
Ministers  formerly  called  Presbyterian  and  Congregational," 
were  an  English  platform.  In  old  England,  Puritanism  had 
been  broken  down,  and  had  suffered  a  total  defeat,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  pertinacious  disagreement  between  the  Presby- 
terians with  their  passion  for  a  national  church  and  a  state  es- 
tablishment of  religion,  and  the  Independents  or  Congregatiou- 
alists,  with  their  unyielding  demand  for  a  more  radical  refor- 
mation, and  a  larger  measure  of  ecclesiastical  liberty.  After  the 
restoration  of  the  Stuarts  to  the  throne,  and  of  the  old  ecclesi- 
astical system,  the  mutual  repulsion  between  those  two  bodies 


36 

of  Nonconformists  was  gradually  weakened  under  the  pressure 
of  an  impartial  persecution  ;  while  the  restraints  and  disabil- 
ities which  hedged  them  in,  made  it  impossible  for  them  to 
organize  anything.  When  a  more  tolerant  policy  had  begun 
to  prevail  under  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  the  differences 
between  Presbyterians  on  the  one  hand,  who  could  only  gather 
isolated  congregations,  and  who  had  lost  all  hope  of  ever  be- 
coming the  national  church  of  England,  and  Independents  on 
the  other,  who  repudiated  the  idea  of  a  national  church  ;  and 
who  desired  no  classical  or  synodical  organizations — was 
theoretical  rather  than  practical.  At  last,  in  the  year  1691,  a 
formal  union  of  the  Pedo-baptist  dissenting  ministers  in  and 
about  London,  was  effected  on  a  platform  of  rules  and  Scrip- 
tural principles,  which,  for  the  most  part,  ignored,  or  covered 
up  in  comprehensive  statements,  the  heads  of  difference  be- 
tween the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  theories.  That 
platform,  for  so  it  might  have  been  denominated  by  those  who 
framed  it,  was  modestly  entitled  "  Heads  of  Agreement."  It 
was  not  a  compact  among  churches,  nor  was  it  formed  by  any 
representative  convention.  It  was  only  the  statement  of  a 
method  in  which  certain  ministers  of  the  gospel,  differing  in 
the  theory  of  ecclesiastical  order,  had  agreed  to  recognize  each 
other,  and  to  bring  about,  if  they  could,  a  more  intimate  com- 
munion among  their  churches.  Framed  for  such  a  purpose,  it 
could  not  but  imply  as  its  basis  the  right  of  each  congregation 
or  worshiping  society  to  manage  its  affairs  in  its  own  way  ;  and 
so  it  was  in  fact,  though  not  in  name,  a  Congregational  plat- 
form. While  the  differences  between  that  and  the  Cambridge 
Platform  are  not  very  striking,  and  are  by  no  means  offensive 
in  expression,  even  to  a  rigid  Congregational ist,  the  setting  up 
of  the  Heads  of  Agreement  by  the  Say  brook  synod,  as  a  substi- 
tute for  the  old  platform,  was  not  without  significance.  It  im- 
plied that  the  new  form  of  ecclesiastical  government  in  Connec- 


37 

ticut  was  to  be,  in  some  sort,  and  to  some  extent,  a  compro- 
mise with  Presbyterian  principles. 

A  single  glance  at  the  English  platform  thus  introduced  and 
commended,  is  sufficient  to  discover  that  it  is  designed  to  pro- 
duce some  uniformity  of  discipline  in  churches  mutually  inde- 
pendent. But  in  respect  to  any  method  of  making  an  appeal 
from  the  erroneous  judgment  of  a  particular  church,  or  bring- 
ing the  influence  of  neighbor  churches  to  bear  on  a  delin- 
quent church,  it  is  far  less  explicit  than  the  Cambridge  Plat- 
form. There  remained,  therefore,  for  the  synod,  another,  and 
more  difficult  duty.  That  "  perma'nent  establishment  among 
ourselves  "  which  the  political  leaders  of  the  Colony  so  much 
desired,  and  that  "good  and  regular  issue  in  cases  subject  to 
ecclesiastical  discipline,"  without  which,  the  hope  of  an  estab- 
lishment would  be  chimerical,  had  not  yet  been  provided  for. 

Fifteen  "Articles  of  Discipline" — the  synod's  own  work — 
were  therefore  introduced  into  the  report,  as  having  been 
agreed  upon  "  for  the  better  regulation  of  the  administration 
of  church  discipline  in  relation  to  all  cases  ecclesiastical,  both 
in  particular  churches  and  councils,  to  the  full  determining  and 
executing  the  rules  in  all  such  cases."  What  the  meaning  of 
those  articles  is,  or  rather  what  their  meaning  was  when  they 
were  new,  remains  to  this  day  a  doubtful  question ;  and  I 
believe  that  I  may  say  that,  even  now,  one  of  our  heads  of 
agreement,  here  in  Connecticut,  is  that  on  that  question  we  agree 
to  differ.  The  synod's  fifteen  Articles  seem  to  be,  in  effect,  a 
compromise  between  that  simple  and  purely  Congregational 
method  of  consociation  which  was  proposed  by  the  Massachu- 
setts synod  of  1662,  and  something  else  that  was  intended  to 
be  a  great  deal  more  stringent. 

Thus  the  work  of  the  synod  was  completed.  Whether  they 
understood  their  own  work  or  not,  they  unanimously  voted  for 
it  ;  rand  the  three  documents  which  constitute  the  Saybrook 
Platform,  were,  one  month  afterward,  presented  to  the  legisla- 


38 

ture,  in  its  October  session  at  New  Haven,  for  approval  and  es- 
tablishment. The  legislative  act  which  ensued,  is,  every  word 
of  it,  worth  repeating  here. 

"The  Reverend  ministers,  delegates  from  the  elders  and  messen- 
gers of  this  government,  met  at  Saybrook  September  9th,  1708, 
having  presented  to  thisA  ssembly  a  Confession  of  Faith,  Heads  of 
Agreement,  and  regulations  in  the  administration  of  church  disci- 
pline, as  unanimously  agreed  and  consented  to  by  the  elders  and 
churches  in  this  government ;  this  Assembly  doth  declare  their  great 
approbation  of  such  an  happy  agreement,  and  do  ordain  that  all  the 
churches  within  this  government  that  are,  or  shall  be,  thus  united 
in  doctrine,  worship,  and  discipline,  be,  and  for  the  future  shall  be 
owned  and  acknowledged  established  by  law ; — provided  that 
nothing  herein  shall  be  intended  or  construed  to  hinder  or  prevent 
any  society  or  church,  that  is  or  shall  be  allowed  by  the  laws  of  this 
government,  who  soberly  differ  or  dissent  from  the  united  churches 
hereby  established,  from  exercising  worship  and  discipline,  in  their 
own  way,  according  to  their  consciences." 

Several  particulars  in  this  act  seem  remarkably  significant. 
First,  it  is  very  coolly — and,  with  due  reverence  to  the  memory 
of  Governor  Saltonstall  and  his  associates  in  the  government, 
we  might  even  say,  audaciously — affirmed  that  the  Saybrook 
Platform  had  been  presented  to  that  General  Court  as  a  thing 
"  unanimously  agreed  and  consented  to  by  the  elders  and 
churches."  In  other  words  it  was  pretended  that  those  sixteen 
men  at  Saybrook,  twelve  of  them  ministers  convened  only  as 
ministers  by  the  simple  mandate  of  the  government  without 
any  reference  whatever  to  the  consent  of  the  churches,  and  the 
other  four  of  them  deputies  of  the  deputies  whom  some  of  the 
churches  had  sent  to  the  several  county  meetings — were  "  the 
elders  and  churches  of  this  government ;"  and  that  what  they, 
in  that  little  conclave,  had  "agreed  and  consented  to,"  needed 
no  approbation  or  acceptance  from  any  of  the  forty  churches 


39 

then  existing  in  Connecticut.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  a  more 
signal  instance  of  merely  arbitrary  imputation  can  be  found  any 
where  save  in  some  men's  science  of  theology.  Yet  this  is 
only  an  instance  of  the  style  in  which  the  legislature  of  Con- 
necticut, from  the  first,  was  wont  to  meddle  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs. 

In  the  next  place,  the  new  Platform  is  deliberately  and  dis- 
tinctly imposed  upon  the  churches  by  excluding  from  the 
benefits  of  the  previously  existing  establishment  every  church 
thatshould  refuse  conformity.  Heretofore,  all  churches,  formed 
with  the  consent  of  the  government  and  the  approbation  of 
neighbor  churches,  had  been  equal  in  privileges.  Their  teach- 
ing elders,  and  none  others,  were  the  authorized  ministry  in  the 
several  towns  and  parishes,  their  administrations  the  only  au- 
thorized administrations.  But  this  act  expresses  the  intention 
of  the  government  to  repudiate  and  disown  all  churches  that 
should  insist  on  the  ancient  system  of  church  order,  or  what 
was  called  the  Congregational  way.  Forty  years  before,  it  had 
been  ordained  that  as  the  Congregational  churches  had  been 
approved,  they  should  still  be  countenanced  and  protected  till 
better  light  should  appear;  though,  inasmuch  as  there  were 
sundry  persons  of  prudence  and  piety  presbyterially  inclined, 
it  was  provided  that  such  persons,  being  approved  according 
to  law  as  orthodox  in  the  fundamentals  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, should  be  allowed  their  own  persuasion  and  profession  of 
church  ways  without  disturbance.  But  now  the  long  expected 
light  had  come,  and  henceforth  the  churches  of  the  new  Plat- 
form were  to  be  the  only  ecclesiastical  establishment  in  Con- 
necticut, 

In  the  third  place,  was  the  proviso  at  the  close  of  the  act 
fairly  understood  on  all  sides?  The  fair  construction  of  it 
seems  to  be  that  if  the  church  in  New  Haven,  for  example,  or 
the  church  in  Norwich,  should  refuse  submission  to  the  Say- 
brook  Platform,  and  insist  upon  proceeding  in  the  Congrega- 


40 

tional  way,  it  might  indeed  maintain  its  separate  worship 
without  disturbance,  but  it  should  no  longer  be  in  a  legal  con- 
nection with  the  town  ;  it  should  no  longer  have  a  right  to  the 
place  of  worship  established  by  the  town,  and  its  ministers 
should  no  longer  have  a  right  to  public  encouragement  and 
support.  But  there  is  reason  to  doubt  whether  the  proviso  was 
so  understood  by  those  who  enacted  it — or  at  least  whether  it 
was  so  understood  by  all  of  them. 

In  conformity  with  this  new  law,  a  convention,  or  council 
of  ministers  and  churches  was  soon  held  in  each  of  the  four 
counties  into  which  our  territory  was  then  divided.  In  Hart- 
ford County,  (which  included  Waterbury  in  one  direction,  and 
Windham,  Colchester  and  Plainfield  in  another,)  the  thirteen 
churches  then  existing  were  confederated  under  the  new  reli- 
gious constitution  of  the  Colony  in  two  consociations,  and  their 
elders  were  accordingly  united  in  two  associations.  Each  of 
the  other  counties  became  one  ecclesiastical  district.  So  that 
when  the  first  General  Association  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut 
was  convened  at  Hartford  in  May,  1709 — a  meeting  of  which 
no  record  is  extant,  but  which  is  incidentally  noted  in  the  Colo- 
nial Records* — the  body  included  five  particular  associations. 

But  how  was  the  new  religious  constitution  received  by  the 
churches  ?  And  how  did  they  understand  it  when  they  sub- 
mitted to  it  ?  Our  venerable  historian,  Dr.  Trumbull,  says  that 
the  Platform  "  met  with  a  general  reception,  though  some  of 
the  churches  were  extremely  opposed  to  it."  He  also  tells  us 
that  "somewhat  different  constructions  were  put  upon  the  con- 
stitution. Those  who  were  for  a  high  consociational  govern- 

*  May,  1709.  "  It  is  ordered  and  enacted  by  the  Governor,  Council,  and  Represen- 
tatives iu  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  Reverend 
Elders,  the  General  Delegates  of  the  several  Associations  of  Elders  within  this  Colo- 
ny, now  assembled  in  Hartford,  do  revise  and  prepare  for  the  press  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  Articles  of  Agreement  between  the  united  brethren  in  England,  formerly  called 
Presbyterian  and  Congregational,  together  with  the  Discipline  agreed  upon  by  the 
General  Council  of  the  Reverend  Elders  and  churches  of  this  Colony  assembled  nt 
Saybrook"  *  *  *  "and  being  revised,  that  the  same  shall  be  forthwith  printed/' 


41 

ment,  construed  it  rigidly  according  to  the  Articles  of  Disci- 
pline ;"  and  others  by  the  Heads  of  Agreement ;  or  at  least  they 
were  for  softening  down  the  more  rigid  articles  by  construing 
them  agreeably  to  those  heads  of  union."  There  remain, 
within  our  reach  at  this  day,  some  facts  and  documents  to  illus- 
trate the  testimony  of  this  careful  and  honest  historian. 

For  example :  The  convention  for  New  Haven  county  was 
held  at  Branford  on  the  13th  of  April,  1709.  Five  elders  were 
present ;  and  their  five  churches  were  represented  by  eight 
messengers.  Three  churches  and  their  elders  made  no  appear- 
ance in  the  council, — namely,  Guilford,  where  Thomas  Rug- 
gles  was  pastor, — Wallingford,  where  Samuel  Street  had  been 
pastor  more  than  thirty  years, — and  East  Haven,  where  Jacob 
Hemingway  had  been  quite  recently  ordained  to  the  pastoral 
office.  The  story  is  that  the  churches  which  were  represented 
in  the  council  had  particularly  charged  their  messengers  to 
"take  care  to  secure  their  Congregational  privileges."  Of 
course  the  Articles  of  Discipline  were  seriously  called  in  ques- 
tion by  some  members  of  the  council ;  and  we  are  told  that 
"  the  Rev.  Mr.  Andrew  and  Mr.  Pierpont  interpreted  these  ar- 
ticles to  their  satisfaction."  Not  content  with  oral  explana- 
tions, they  insisted  that  the  sense  of  the  ambiguous  articles 
should  be  written  and  fixed  to  prevent  a  different  interpreta- 
tion in  time  to  come ;  and  that  written  interpretation,  which 
they  placed  upon  their  minutes,  makes  the  Platform  a  purely 
and  thoroughly  Congregational  confederation  of  Congregational 
churches.  Even  "  the  sentence  of  non-communion"  against 
an  erring  and  obstinate  church,  as  provided  for  in  the  sixth 
article,  was  not  to  be  declared  till  the  constituent  churches 
should  have  been  informed  of  the -council's  judgment,  and 
should  have  expressed  their  approval  of  it.* 


*Narrative  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  First  Society  and  Church  in  Wallingfbrd,  &c. 
By  Jonathan  Todd,  175a,  pp.  38-37.    Also,  Congregational  Order,  pp.  284-286. 

7 


42 

On  the  other  hand,  the  convention  of  elders  and  messengers 
for  Fairfield  County  had  held  its  meeting,  at  Stratfield,  just 
four  weeks  earlier,  [Mar.  16.]  Every  elder  in  the  county  was 
there,  six  in  all.  Of  the  eight  churches,  Greenwich  only  (which 
seems  to  have  been  in  a  disorganized  condition)  was  not  repre- 
sented ;  and  Norwalk  alone  was  contented  with  a  single  mes- 
senger. The  record  of  that  meeting  is  preserved  at  length 
upon  the  record-book  of  the  Stratfield  church.  It  was  not  till 
the  second  day  of  the  session  that  any  vote  was  taken.  Then, 
after  a  vote  to  institute  one  consociation  for  the  county,  an  ex- 
tended ultra- Presbyterian  interpretation  and  construction  of  the 
Articles  of  Discipline  was  put  upon  the  record.  It  was  dis- 
tinctly resolved  that  the  pastors,  met  in  one  consociation,  have 
power,  with  the  consent  of  the  messengers  of  our  churches 
chosen  and  attending,  authoritatively  and  decisively  to  deter- 
mine ecclesiastical  affairs  brought  to  their  cognizance,  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  God :  arid  that  our  pastors,  with  the  con- 
currence and  consent  of  the  messengers  to  be  chosen  and  that 
shall  attend,  upon  all  future  occasions,  have  like  authori- 
tative, juridical  and  decisive  power  of  determination  of  affairs 
ecclesiastical ;  and  that  in  further  and  fuller  meetings  of  two 
consociations  together  *  *  *  there  is  the  like  authorita- 
tive, juridical,  and  decisive  power,"  &c.  It  was  also  resolved 
"  that,  in  the  sixth  paragraph  of  said  conclusions,  we  do  not 
hold  ourselves  obliged  in  our  practice  to  use  the  phrase  of  '  the 
sentence  of  '  non-communion'  but  instead  thereof  to  use  the 
phrase  of  the  sentence  of  excommunication,  which,  in  our 
judgment,  may  be  formally  applied  in  the  case  expressed  in 
said  paragraph  ;"  and  furthermore,  "  that  the  judgment  of  the 
consociation  or  council  be  executed  by  any  pastor  appointed 
thereto  by  the  council,  when  the  pastor  that  hath  already  dealt 
in  the  case,  hath  not  a  freedom  of  conscience  to  execute  the 
same."  And  as  if  to  show  more  completely  the  genius  of  the 
system  under  that  construction  of  it,  there  was  a  formal  reso- 


43 

lution  "  that  all  persons  that  are  known  to  be  baptized,  shall, 
in  the  places  where  they  dwell,  be  subject  to  the  censures  of 
admonition  and  excommunication,  in  case  of  scandal  commit- 
ted and  obstinately  persisted  in." 

How  far  this  new  ecclesiastical  constitution,  as  expounded 
and  applied  in  Fairfield  county,  differed  from  the  Congrega- 
tional way  as  marked  out  by  the  fathers  of  New  England — by 
how  many  "  degrees  toward  the  antarctique"  (in  the  phrase  of 
the  first  John  Davenport,)  it  had  "varied  from  the  first  ways 
of  reformation  here  begun"  is  evident  enough  to  any  who  will 
consult  such  an  authority  as  our  venerable  Hooker.  He  says 
distinctly.  The  church  "  is  so  far  subject  to  the  consociation  of 
churches,  that  she  is  bound,  in  case  of  doubt  and  difficulty,  to 
crave  their  counsel,  and  if  it  be  according  to  God,  to  follow  it  ; 
and  if  she  shall  err  from  the  rule,  and  continue  obstinate  there- 
in, they  have  authority  to  renounce  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship with  Aer."*  He  says  expressly,  in  treating  of  the 
power  of  synods  or  councils,  "  They  have  not  power  infli- 
gendi  censuras,  utpote  excommunicationis."  "  They  have 
no  power  to  impose  their  canons  or  conclusions  on  the  church- 
es."! And  throughout  the  whole  of  the  fourth  part  of  his  Survey 
of  the  sum  of  church  discipline,  he  reasons  continually  against 
that  same  juridical  and  decisive  power  of  councils  or  synods, 
and  especially  that  power  of  excommunicating  individuals  or 
churches,  which  the  Fairfield  consociation  in  1709  dared  to 
challenge  for  itself. 

John  Woodward,  pastor  of  the  Norwich  church,  has  already 
been  named  as  one  of  the  scribes  in  the  Saybrook  synod.  The 
incident  has  been  commemorated,  doubtless  with  some  degree 
of  correctness,  that  when  the  act  of  the  legislature,  adopting 
the  new  Platform  as  the  ecclesiastical  constitution  of  the  colo- 
ny, had  been  passed,  he  read  that  act  to  his  congregation  but 
without  the  proviso.  Thereupon,  as  the  story  is  given  by 

*  T.  Hooker,  Survey,  part  2,  chap.  8,  p.  80.      t  Ibid.  p.  4,  c.  8. 


44 

Isaac  Backus  the  Baptist  historian,  "Richard  Bushnell  and 
Joseph  Backus,  Esquire.s,  who  [as  representatives  of  the  town] 
had  opposed  that  scheme  in  the  Assembly,  informed  the  church 
of  the  liberty  they  had  to  dissent  from  it ;  but  the  minister 
carried  a  major  vote  against  them.  Therefore  these  represen- 
tatives and  other  fathers  of  the  town  withdrew  *  *  and 
held  worship  by  themselves  for  three  months.  For  this  the 
minister  and  his  party  censured  them."  "  But  not  long  after  the 
Norwich  minister  had  censured  their  representatives,  he  con- 
sented to  refer  the  matter  to  a  council ;  and  they  followed  it 
with  council  after  council  for  about  six  years."  "  At  last,  by 
advice  of  a  council  that  met  August  31,  1716,  said  minister 
was  dismissed,  and  the  church  in  Norwich  determined  to  abide 
upon  its  ancient  foundation."  The  successor  of  Mr.  Wood- 
ward, Dr.  Lord,  was  required  at  the  time  of  his  settlement  to 
accept  the  Cambridge  Platform  as  the  assertion  of  the  rules  of 
discipline  given  in  the  Scriptures.* 

Many  incidents  may  be  gleaned  from  public  and  private  re- 
cords to  show  what  kind  of  a  government  in  and  over  the 
churches  was  intended  by  the  anti-congregational  party  in 
those  times.  The  first  pastor  in  Durham  was  Nathaniel  Chaun- 
cey,  a  very  near  relative  of  that  Charles  Chauncey  who  was  a 
member  of  the  Saybrook  synod.  His  ordination  took  place 
in  February  1711,  after  nearly  five  years  of  service  as  a  candi- 
date. The  question  of  his  settlement  had  been  long  pending, 
because  a  portion  of  the  people  were  not  satisfied  with  his 
"judgment  as  to  matters  of  discipline."  Here  was  an  instance 
of  the  conflict  of  opinions  which  at  that  period  was  producing 
so  many  divisions  in  Connecticut.  What  the  particular  ques- 
tions were  between  Mr.  Chauncey  and  the  dissentients  from 
his  judgment,  does  not  distinctly  appear.  But  just  as  the  diffi- 
culty was  coming  to  a  crisis,  "  I  heard"  says  Chauncey,  "  of 

*  Hovey,  Life  and  Times  of  Isaac  Backus,  pp.  23,  24.  Backus,  (1.  c.)  adds,  "The 
church  in  East  Windsor,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Timothy  Edwards,  father  of  Mr.  Jona- 
than, also  refused  to  receive  the  Saybrook  Platform." 


45 

the  general  meeting  of  the  elders  to  be  held  at  Saybrook.  I 
told  some  of  them  [the  malcontents]  I  thought  it  was  wisdom 
to  tarry  until  that  was  over.  *  *  As  soon  as  I  could,  I  got  a 
copy  [of  the  new  Platform]  and  let  them  have  it  to  read  among 
themselves.  And  having  read  and  considered  it,  those  that 
were  members  in  full  communion  came  to  me,  and  told  me 
that  their  business  was  to  tell  me  they  were  all  suited."  There- 
upon he  was  invited  to  "  take  the  pastoral  charge."  "  At  this 
meeting,"  he  says,  ;<  something  was  said  about  the  understand- 
ing of  the  Articles,  to  which  I  replied,  if  difficulty  should  be 
there,  we  must  refer  ourselves  to  the  same  power  which  drew 
them  up,  which  was  not  objected  against."  The  trouble,  how- 
ever, was  not  yet  disposed  of.  A  mutual  council  was  proposedr 
and  was  agreed  to,  but  was  afterwards  merged  in  the  ordaining 
council.  The  questions  between  the  candidate  and  the  minor- 
ity were  laid  before  that  council ;  and  according  to  his  state- 
ment, "  The  result  was  this.  I  was  called  for  and  asked  wheth- 
er, in  difficult  and  weighty  cases,  I  was  willing  the  mind  of  the 
church  should  be  known  by  some  sign.  I  replied,  I  designed 
never  to  be  any  other  than  tender  in  such  cases,  and  should  like 
to  have  the  concurrence  of  the  church.  But  it  may  be  that 
might  be  insisted  on  by  some  in  trivial  matters  ;  whereto,  reply 
was  made  '  in  things  that  I  might  judge  or  account  best.'  This 
I  duly  assented  to.  This  is  the  whole  of  what  I  was  obliga- 
ted to  at  that  time  ;  namely,  that  the  mind  of  the  church  be 
known  by  some  sign  in  things  that  I  myself  should  judge  to 
be  weighty  and  difficult."*  Such  was  Nathaniel  Chauncey's 
construction  of  the  first  article  in  the  Saybrook  Platform, 
which  is  that  "  the  elder  or  elders  of  a  particular  church,  with 
the  consent  of  the  brethren  of  the  same,  have  power,  and 
ought  to  exercise  church  discipline  according  to  the  rule  of 
God's  word  in  relation  to  all  scandals  that  fall  out  within  the 

*  Chauncey  Memorials,  pp  102-103. 


46 

same.''  Surely  the  notion  of  "  a  silent  democracy"  had  been 
fully  developed  when  a  pastor  was  settled  with  no  other  con- 
cession of  privilege  to  the  brotherhood  in  matters  of  church 
government,  than  that  he  would  permit  the  mind  of  the  church 
to  be  known  by  some  sign  in  difficult  and  weighty  cases,  he 
himself  being  the  sole  judge  as  to  what  cases  were  weighty  and 
difficult. 

The  history  of  the  churches  in  Connecticut,  under  the  con- 
stitution formed  at  Saybrook,  divides  itself  naturally  into  three 
half-century  periods.  For  nearly  fifty  years,  the  working  of 
the  constitution  was  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  the  men  who,  to- 
ward the  close  of  that  period,  became  distinguishable  as  the 
"old  light"  party,  They  were  Calvinists  in  theory;  they 
seem  to  have  accepted  and  held  the  established  Confession  of 
Faith  without  any  difficulty  or  equivocation  ;  but  they  had 
been  molded  in  their  intellectual  and  religious  habits,  and  in  all 
their  ideas  of  the  church  and  its  ordinances,  by  the  influences 
which  brought  in  the  half-way  covenant.  They  were  very 
naturally,  not  to  say  inevitably,  formalists,  if  we  may  use  that 
word  without  implying  that  they  rejected  the  idea  of  spiritual 
religion.  It  is  not  for  any  of  us  to  say  that  they  were  not  truly 
good  men,  and  in  their  way  earnest  and  faithful ;  or  that  they 
were  not  doing  a  good  work  in  their  day,  unlike  as  their  ideas 
and  modes  of  working  were  to  ours.  In  those  fifty  years,  the 
ecclesiastical  constitution,  notwithstanding  any  imperfections 
of  its  own,  and  notwithstanding  any  errors  or  excesses  in  the 
administration  of  it,  was  gradually  bringing  the  churches,  and 
especially  the  ministers  into  a  closer  union  with  each  other  ; 
and  was  preparing  them  for  perils  and  conflicts,  and  for  achieve- 
ments of  which  they  had  little  anticipation.  During  that  period, 
new  towns  were  settled  and  incorporated,  and  every  new  town 
had  its  church,  its  meeting-house,  and  its  minister  ;  two  new 
counties  were  organized,  and  each  new  county  had  its  consocia- 
tion of  churches,  and  its  association  of  pastors,  according  to  the 


47 

Platform.  The  collegiate  school  soon  migrated  from  its  tem- 
poraiy  abode  at  Say  brook  ;  and  in  the  home  which,  after  a  per- 
ilous conflict,  had  been  gained  for  it  at  New  Haven,  it  grew 
into  a  flourishing  institution  in  a  most  intimate  connection 
with  the  clergy,  who,  at  the  close  of  this  period,  had  been  ed- 
ucated there,  almost  without  an  exception.  Great  and  persist- 
ent efforts  were  made  for  the  reformation  of  morals,  for  the 
thorough  indoctrination  of  the  people  by  the  domestic  and  pa- 
rochial catechising  of  children,  and  for  the  general  education 
of  the  young  in  such  parochial  schools  as  the  poverty  of  that 
period  could  provide.  The  dreadful  tendency  to  barbarism — 
a  tendency  incident  to  the  growing  up  of  a  colony  in  such  a 
wilderness,  and  aggravated  by  the  effects  of  wars,  Indian, 
French  and  Spanish,  was  heroically  and  not  unsuccessfully  re- 
sisted. By  the  laborious  fidelity  of  those  pastors  in  their  ways 
of  working,  the  people  of  their  parishes  were  prepared,  in  some 
sort,  for  the  great  and  memorable  religious  awakening  which 
marks  so  signally  the  latter  part  of  that  half-century.  And 
that  the  enthusiastic  excesses,  and  the  acrimonious  controver- 
sies and  recriminations  which  followed  the  awakening,  did  not 
produce  by  their  repulsive  force  a  far  wider  defection  through 
cold  Aminianism  and  Socinianism  into  mere  Deism  and  Infi- 
delity, may  perhaps  be  ascribed  in  part,  to  those  intimate  rela- 
tions among  the  churches,  and  especially  among  their  pastors, 
which  had  been  effected  by  the  ecclesiastical  constitution  of 
the  colony. 

But  we  must  not  forget  what  were  the  ends  which  the  pro- 
jectors and  contrivers  of  this  constitution  had  in  view.  "  A 
permanent  establishment  "  was  indeed  obtained,  for  church  and 
state  were  more  securely  bound  together  than  before  ;  but  how 
was  it  in  regard  to  that  "  good  and  regular  issue  in  cases  sub- 
ject to  ecclesiastical  discipline,"  which  was  hoped  for?  The 
venerable  Dr.  Trumbull,  ardent  in  everything,  was  an  ardent 
friend  to  the  ecclesiastical  constitution  ;  but  the  second  volume 


48 

of  his  history  shows  what  he  thought  about  the  way  in  which 
it  was  administered  while  the  "  old  light"  men  had  the  work- 
ing of  it.  That  it  had  any  efficacy  at  all  in  preventing,  or  in 
adjusting  those  local  controversies  which  are  inevitably  inci- 
dent to  the  government  of  all  self-governed  churches,  does  not 
appear  in  all  the  history  of  that  half-century. 

For  example  :  In  1728,  a  difficulty  arose  in  Guilford  about 
the  ordination  of  a  pastor.  A  large  minority  of  the  church 
and  parish  protested  in  vain.  Finding  their  protest  disregard- 
ed by  the  ordaining  council,  as  well  as  by  the  majority  of  the 
church  and  parish,  they  refused  to  sit  under  the  ministry  that 
had  been  thus  imposed  upon  them,  and  withdrew.  Nearly 
fifty  of  them  were  members  of  the  church  They  were  nu- 
merous enough  to  be  a  church  by  themselves  ;  and  they  judged 
themselves  able  to  support  the  expenses  of  public  worship. 
They  distinctly  renounced  the  Saybrook  Platform,  and  falling 
back  upon  rights  which  they  considered  older  and  more  sacred 
than  the  work  of  any  synod,  they  set  up  worship  as  an  inde- 
pendent Christian  congregation,  having  employed  a  regularly 
approbated  candidate  to  preach  to  them.  In  all  these  proceed- 
ings, we  find  no  interference  of  the  consociation.  On  the 
contrary  when  this  seceding  minority  applied  to  the  legislature, 
in  1729,  for  leave  to  become  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  society, 
their  petition  was  rejected,  and  a  commission  of  three  minis- 
ters was  appointed  by  the  General  Court  to  visit  Guilford  and 
attempt  a  reconciliation  between  the  parties.  That  commit- 
tee, having  heard  and  considered  the  objections  urged  by  the 
seceding  party  against  the  minister,  pronounced  the  objections 
insufficient,  and  simply  advised  the  secession  to  return  and  fill 
up  the  vacant  sittings  in  the  great  new  meeting  house,  and  to 
let  the  past  be  forgiven  and  forgotten  on  both  sides.  Of  course 
such  advice,  offered  in  such  a  way,  was  not  accepted  ;  and  if 
the  Reverend  Commissioners  had  understood  the  nature  of  a 
Guilford  parish  controversy  as  well  as  we  do  in  these  later 


49 

times,  they  might  have  saved  the  paper  on  which  their  advice 
was  written.  Those  seceders  had  made  up  their  minds  that 
Mr.  Ruggles,  the  young  minister  imposed  upon  them  by  the 
majority,  was  not  the  minister  for  them.  They  had  therefore 
made  up  their  minds  to  disown  the  Saybrook  Platform,  with 
which,  as  the  ecclesiastical  establishment  of  the  Colony,  the 
cause  of  Mr.  Ruggles  and  the  majority  seemed  to  be,  in  some 
way  identified.  On  both  points  they  were  conscientious  as 
well  as  willful — perhaps  the  more  conscientious  for  being  will- 
ful— certainly  the  more  willful  for  being  conscientious.  The 
result  of  their  petition  to  the  General  Court  had  wakened  them 
to  grave  doubts  concerning  the  right  of  the  legislature  to  in- 
terpose with  unsolicited  advice  in  a  dispute  about  the  fitness 
of  a  given  preacher  for  a  given  parish.  Guided  either  by  their 
own  ingenuity  or  by  that  of  some  adviser,  they  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  as  British  subjects,  they  had  a  right  to  se- 
cede from  the  establishment.  An  act  of  Parliament,  passed  in 
the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  and  referred  to  in  a  statute  of 
the  Colony,  for  similar  purposes,  provided  relief  for  sober  dis- 
senters from  the  established  order,  and  prescribed  the  steps  by 
which  a  dissenting  preacher  and  his  congregation  might  obtain 
a  legal  protection.  Claiming  the  benefit  of  that  twofold  legis- 
lation, the  seceding  party  presented  themselves  before  the  coun- 
ty court  in  New  Haven,  that  by  taking  the  necessary  oaths, 
and  subscribing  the  required  declaration,  they  might  be  qualified 
in  law  to  worship  by  themselves.  After  a  five  months'  oppor- 
tunity for  deliberation  and  for  consultation,  the  court  yielded 
to  their  demand.  But  this,  of  course,  did  not  exempt  them 
from  the  necessity  of  paying  the  taxes  imposed  upon  them  by 
the  parish  from  which  they  had  seceded.  They,  therefore, 
from  the  vantage  ground  which  they  had  gained,  renewed  their 
petition  to  the  legislature  for  relief,  and  for  a  full  incorporation 
as  an  ecclesiastical  society.  A  partial  relief  was  granted  ;  but 

the  legislature  adhering  to  its  old  habit  of  playing  the  bishop 

8 


50 

over  the  churches,  must  needs  persist  in  the  preposterous  at- 
tempt to  bring  the  seceders  back,  and  make  them  settle  down 
under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Ruggles.  An  ecclesiastical  council 
of  ten  ministers  and  churches,  selected  from  three  counties  by 
the  legislature,  was  ordered  to  meet  in  Guilford,  and  bring  the 
controversy  to  a  close.  In  compliance  with  the  advice  of  that 
council,  the  church,  acting  judicially,  suspended  from  com- 
munion those  who  had  seceded  from  it,  already  more  numerous 
than  those  they  had  left  behind.  It  was  yet  to  be  discovered 
that  church-censures  in  such  cases  have  no  efficacy  for  good. 
Thus  the  controversy  proceeded.  The  General  Association, 
at  the  proposal  of  the  legislature,  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
separating  party,  met  at  Guilford,  heard  the  parties,  and  adjourn- 
ed. Then  the  legislature  sent  a  committee  of  its  own,  who 
heard  the  parties  and  reported  recommending  the  appointment 
of  another  council.  Such  a  council  was  appointed,  with  a 
commission  from  the  legislature  to  hear  and  "  finally  deter- 
mine" the  case  ;  but  it  accomplished  nothing.  Then  another 
committee  from  the  legislature  went,  heard  the  parties  and  report- 
ed ;  then  a  third  legislative  committee  went,  who  at  last  reported 
that  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  persevering  petitioners,  whose 
continual  coming  had  so  long  wearied  that  honorable  body, 
would  be  "  for  the  peace  of  the  town  and  the  interests  of  reli- 
gion/' Five  years  that  conflict  raged,  and  thus  it  ended.* 

All  this  while  the  church  in  Gnilford.  so  persistently  patron- 
ized by  the  General  Court,  had  never  accepted  the  Saybrook 
Constitution,  arid  therefore  was  not  really  one  of  the  established 
churches  according  to  the  act  of  1708.  In  that  case,  the 
church  was  not  considered  as  dis-established  by  adhering  to 
the  original  platform  of  the  New  England  churches.  But  when 
a  somewhat  similar  case  of  difficulty  arose  in  Canterbury,  a  few 
years  later,  a  very  dissimilar  course  was  taken.  The  majority  of 

the  church  refused  to  accept,  as  their  pastor,  the  minister  whom 

— . . — • — — — • 

*Trumbull,  Hist,  of  Conu.  vol.  ii,  chap,  7, 


51 

the  majority  of  the  parish  had  chosen.  Yet  the  consociation 
of  Windham  county  convened  ;  and  by  counting  in  sundry  de- 
linquent members  who  were  under  censure,  they  increased  the 
minority  into  what  they  thought  might  pass  for  a  majority, 
and  then  proceeded  to  ordination.  The  church  withdrew  from 
the  consociation,  and  from  the  parish,  placed  itself  upon  the 
ancient  Congregational  platform,  and  found  that  its  separate 
meeting  for  worship  was  pronounced  not  only  schismatic  but 
illegal.*  In  Milford,  not  far  from  the  same  time,  a  minority 
protesting  against  the  settlement  of  a  pastor,  and  afterwards 
seceding,  were  compelled  to  take  a  course  like  that  which  had 
been  taken  by  the  minority  at  Guilford,  and  were  even  con- 
strained to  make  themselves,  for  the  time  being,  Presbyterians 
under  the  presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  in  order  to  gain  a 
toleration  which  they  could  not  have  as  Congregationalists. 
After  twelve  years  of  legalized  annoyance,  they  obtained  from 
the  legislature  an  incorporation  as  the  Second  Ecclesiastical 
Society  in  Milford,  and  their  Presbyterianism  vanished  away.f 
At  an  early  stage  in  the  progress — or  perhaps  I  might  more 
properly  say,  in  the  sequel — of  the  great  awakening,  as  soon  as 
the  irregularities  and  extravagances  incidental  to  such  a  move- 

&  o 

ment  in  such  times,  began  to  appear,  the  great  body  of  the 
ministers  throughout  the  colony  were  not  unreasonably  alarm- 
ed ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  in  their  inexperience 
as  to  the  way  of  dealing  with  such  perils,  and  under  the  guid- 
ance of  principles  which  they  had  always  assumed  as  axioms, 
they  were  led  into  a  too  conservative  policy.  In  New  Haven 
county  especially,  the  severest  measures  were  employed  by  the 
association  and  the  consociation  against  those  pastors  who 
could  be  charged  with  any  irregularity.  The  pastor  of  Derby 
was  excluded  from  the  association  because  he  had  preached  to 
a  Baptist  congregation  within  some  other  minister's  parochial 

*  Trumbull,  vol.  ii,  pp.  178-184.    Ho%'ey,  Life  and  Times  of  Isaac  Backus,  p.  18. 
t  Trumbull,  vol.  ii,  chap.  13. 


52 

bounds.  The  pastor  of  West  Haven,  for  some  imprudent  ex- 
pressions, was  dismissed  from  his  charge,  notwithstanding  his 
frankly  expressed  regret,  and  thereupon  the  "  old  light"  men 
expressed  their  exultation  by  saying  that  they  had  put  out  one 
new  light,  and  would  put  them  all  out.  Three  of  the  members 
of  the  New  Haven  association  assisted  in  the  ordination  of  a 
pastor  over  the  church  in  Salisbury,  which  had  been  formed 
on  the  Cambridge  Platform,  and  for  that  reason  they  were  sus- 
pended from  all  associational  communion.*  The  minister  of 
Branford  was  a  new  light.  On  one  occasion  he  preached  to  a 
little  Baptist  church  in  Wallingford.  His  so  doing  was,  by  the 
consociation,  pronounced  disorderly,  and  he  was  therefore  de-, 
prived  of  his  seat  in  that  body.  Not  long  afterwards,  he  was 
arraigned  for  various  extravagant  expressions  in  his  sermons — 
some  of  them  obviously  perverted  and  distorted,  and  for  the 
general  course  of  his  policy  in  regard  to  the  excitements  of  those 
times,  and  at  last  he  was,  in  form,  deposed  from  the  ministry. 
He  went  on  with  his  work  in  his  own  church  and  parish,  his 
people,  with  few  exceptions,  adhered  to  him,  not  forgetting  to 
pay  his  salary,  and  even  increasing  it.  The  legislature,  on  the 
petition  of  a  few  disaffected  parishioners  of  his,  endeavored  to 
interfere,  but  did  not  succeed  ;  and  that  was  the  end  of  it. 
About  seven  years  afterwards,  he  was  quietly  invited  to  sit 
with  the  consociation  ;  and  no  more  was  said  on  the  subject.f 
The  extant  records  of  the  General  Association  begin  with 
the  year  1738.  That  year  there  was  a  full  meeting  of  ten 
members,  every  association  being  represented  by  two  delegates. 
In  1741,  eight  were  present,  of  whom  the  youngest  was  Joseph 
Bellamy.  On  that  occasion,  with  warm  expressions  of  thank- 
fulness to  God  "  for  an  extraordinary  revival  of  religion  in  this 
land,"  the  most  judicious  and  Christian  suggestions  were  made 
to  the  particular  associations  as  to  what  ministers  should  do  at 

*  Trumbull,  vol.  ii,  pp.  195,  196.    t  Trumbull,  vol.  ii,  pp.  196-233. 


53 

such  a  time,  not  only  to  promote  the  great  awakening,  but  to 
maintain  mutual  confidence  and  earnest  co-operation  among 
themselves.  The  next  year,  with  renewed  expressions  of 
thankfulness,  warnings  and  cautions  against  errors  of  doctrine 
and  irregularities  in  practice,  and  against  the  impending  danger 
of  divisions  in  the  churches,  were  given  out  to  the  ministers 

^^ 

and  to  the  churches.  The  next  year,  (1743,)  the  utterances 
from  the  General  Association  are  in  a  tone  of  still  greater  alarm  ; 
yet  there  is  no  syllable  which  we,  as  their  successors,  after  the 
lapse  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years,  have  any  occasion  to 
regret.  But  two  years  afterwards,  (1745,)  eight  members  be- 
ing present,  "  the  following  resolve  was  come  into." 

"  Whereas  there  has  of  late  years  been  many  errors  in  doctrine, 
and  disorders  in  practice,  prevailing  in  the  churches  of  this  land, 
which  seem  to  have  a  threatening  aspect  upon  these  churches — and 
whereas  Mr.  George  Whitefield  has  been  the  promoter,  or  at  least 
the  faulty  occasion  of  many  of  these  errors  and  disorders,  this  asso- 
ciation think  it  needful  for  them  to  declare  that  if  the  said  Mr. 
Whitt'field  should  make  his  progress  through  this  government,  it 
would  by  no  means  be  advisable  for  any  of  our  ministers  to  admit 
him  into  their  pulpits,  or  for  any  of  our  people  to  attend  upon  his 
preaching  and  administrations." 

This  seems  like  a  harsh  judgment.  We  honor  the  name  of 
Whitefield.  Doubtless, 

"  the  tear 
That  fell  upon  his  Bible  was  sincere." 

But  let  us  remember  that  the  Whitefield  of  history,  is  not  ex- 
actly the  Whitefield  of  popular  traditions.  The  famous  evan- 
gelist, whose  first  visit  to  New  England  was  coincident  in  time 
with  the  religious  revival  of  1740,  had  been  received  by  the 
pastors  and  churches  of  Connecticut  with  an  almost  unanimous 
welcome,  as  if  he  were  an  angel  of  God.  He  deserved  such  a 
welcome  ;  for  he  was  a  true  evangelist,  earnest,  faithful,  fervent, 
self-sacrificing,  eloquent  as  if  gifted  with  a  tongue  of  fire.  But 
after  all,  he  was  only  a  man  with  more  zeal  than  judgment, 


54 

better  fitted  to  rouse  and  agitate,  than  to  guide  and  instruct ; 
and  in  the  few  years  between  his  first  visit  and  his  second,  a 
thick  growth  of  mischievous  enthusiasms  and  disorganizing  ex- 
travagances had  sprung  up  in  his  track,  and  were  unquestion- 
ably the  result,  in  part,  of  his  unbalanced  and  unguarded  teach- 
ing. Against  those  enthusiastic  and  destructive  practices,  and 
against  the  erroneous  opinions  and  beliefs  with  which  they  were 
identified,  Edwards,  and  all  the  New  England  pastors  who 
were  known  as  sharing  in  the  great  revival,  had  freely  and 
boldly  testified.  But  Whitefield  had  never  offered  one  word 
that  could  be  construed  as  retracting  any  of  the  mischievous 
words  or  actions  which  had  proceeded  from  his  ill  informed  and 
inconsiderate  zeal  ;  nor  one  word  of  caution  against  the  principles 
or  the  proceedings  of  those  frantic  admirers  of  his  who  were 
spreading  around  them  confusion  and  every  evil  work,  and 
were  bringing  not  the  great  revival  only  but  religion  itself  into 
contempt.  Every  word  alleged  against  him  by  that  General 
Association  of  1745  was  literally  true.  Yet  it  must  be  confess- 
ed that  in  thus  denouncing  one  who,  with  all  his  rashness,  and 
with  all  the  shallowness  of  his  views,  and  with  all  the  inci- 
dental mischiefs  that  attended  his  ministry,  was  nevertheless 
most  manifestly  a  chosen  instrument  of  God  for  a  blessed  service, 
both  in  Britain  and  in  America,  they  committed  an  error  as  grave 
perhaps,  and  as  likely  to  be  mischievous,  as  any  error  of  his. 

It  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  then  predominating  in 
church  and  state,  that  the  fulmination  against  Whitefield,  on 
the  record  of  1745,  is  immediately  followed  by  votes  about  the 
revival  and  keeping  up  of  ecclesiastical  discipline.  The  next 
year  we  find  questions  about  ecclesiastical  discipline  again.  In 
1747,  one  question  about  discipline  is  answered ;  and, 
the  scarcity  of  copies  of  the  Saybrook  Platform  being 
noticed,  a  member  is  appointed  to  procure  and  distribute  a 
number  of  copies  which  are  understood  to  be  in  the  custody  of 
the  secretary  of  the  colony.  The  next  year,  Joseph  Bellamy 


55 

being  again  a  member,  the  importance  of  catechising  is  the 
first  theme,  and  Watts's  catechisms  are  commended,  though 
not  as  a  substitute  for  the  Assembly's  shorter  catechism  ; 
another  attempt  is  made  to  obtain  from  the  secretary  those  re- 
ported copies  of  the  Saybrook  Platform  ;  and,  in  view  of  uthe 
great  prevalence  of  vice  and  profaneness,"  and  of  "a  lamen- 
table indifference  in  spiritual  concerns  among  the  people," 
ministers  are  earnestly  entreated  to  deal  with  the  people  of  their 
charge  by  personal  private  addresses.  For  the  two  years  next 
following,  no  business  was  transacted  ;  the  records  seem  as  if 
the  General  Association  was  dying  if  not  already  dead.  But 
from  1751  onward,  there  are  new  signs  of  life.  Soon  after- 
wards a  great  alarm  at  the  progress  of  doctrinal  errors,  Socin- 
ian,  Arian,  Arminian  and  Pelagian,  begins  to  show  itself.  The 
minutes  for  1758  are  wanting.  But  in  1759,  the  record  is 
alive  with  references  to  the  Wallingford  case.  It  is  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  half-century. 

That  Wallingford  case — the  ordination  of  James  Dana,  from 
Harvard  College,  (afterwards  Dr.  Dana.)  by  an  old  light  coun- 
cil, against  the  protest  of  a  respectable  minority,  and  against  a 
positive  prohibition  from  the  consociation  of  New  Haven  coun- 
ty, which  had  been  convened  to  forbid  the  ordination  of  a  can- 
didate suspected  of  doctrinal  unsoundness — marks  the  com- 
plete and  final  overthrow  of  the  "  old  lights"  as  a  dominant 
party.  Their  great  fortress,  "  our  ecclesiastical  constitution," 
had  been  seized,  and  all  its  guns  were  turned  upon  them.  A 
new  generation  of  ministers,  trained  under  the  influences  of 
the  great  awakening,  and  indoctrinated  to  some  extent  by  the 
writings  of  Edwards  and  Bellamy,  had  come.  The  era  of  the 
New  England  theology  was  opening.  While  the  new  lights 
were  in  the  minority,  their  respect  fop  the  ecclesiastical  constitu- 
tion had  not  been  very  profound,  and  on  the  whole,  they  can 
hardly  he  said  to  have  had  much  reason  to  think  well  of  it. 
But  now  they  found  it  an  exceedingly  useful  arrangement; — 


56 

though  some  of  the  churches  which  they  had  formed,  irregu- 
larly, still  stood  out  against  it.*  Those  ministers  in  New  Ha- 
ven county,  who  had  so  exaggerated  and  perverted  the  powers 
of  association  and  of  consociation,  found  those  powers  no 
longer  under  their  control.  They,  in  their  turn,  were  cen- 
sured and  excluded  for  disorderly  proceedings,  with  singular 
poetic  justice  ;  and  in  their  turn  they  found  that  as  long  as 
their  churches  and  parishes  stood  by  them,  such  censure  and 
exclusion  was  not  very  hard  to  bear. 

The  second  half  century  of  our  ecclesiastical  confederation, 
from  1758  to  1808,  has  its  memorable  features.  During  that 
half  century  our  missionary  work  began,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  General  Association.  In  1774  the  first  notice  of  mis- 
sions to  the  new  settlements  appears  upon  our  records  ;  and  a 
system  of  operations  was  begun  which,  though  often  modified 
according  to  the  lessons  of  experience  and  the  changes  in  the 
work,  has  never  been  relinquished.  In  the  year  1800.  the 
first  attempt  was  made  by  our  churches,  through  the  same  or- 
ganization, to  send  a  missionary  far  hence  to  the  heathen  of 
the  wilderness.f  But  of  this  topic  a  special  statement  has 
already  been  given  in  another  form. 


*  One  of  these  was  the  White  Haven  Church  in  New  Haven,  now  commonly  known 
as  the  North  Church.  See  Dr.  Dutton's  Historical  Discourses. 

fThe  author  of  this  discourse  may  be  allowed  to  say  that  his  father,  the  Reverend 
David  Bacon,  was  the  missionary.  Nor  will  it  be  impertinent  to  copy  here  a  few  sen- 
tences concerning  him,  from  a  Historical  Discourse  pronounced  at  Tallmadge,  Ohio, 
June  24,  1857. 

In  «arly  life — I  know  not  at  what  age — he  had  been  the  subject  of  a  deep  and  thor- 
ough religious  experience ;  and  through  his  spiritual  conflicts  and  deliverances  he  had 
been  brought  into  a  special  sympathy  with  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  Brainerd,  that 
saintly  New  England  missionary  who  wore  his  young  life  out  among  the  Indians  of 
New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  long  ago,  and  whose  biography,  written  by  Jonathan 
Edwards,  has  wakened  in  later  ages,  and  in  other  lands,  such  minds  as  Henry  Mar- 
tyn,  to  a  holy  emulation.  Thus,  at  a  period  when  missions  to  the  heathen  were  little 
thought  of,  he  cherished  in  his  solitary  bosom  the  fire  that  is  now  glowing,  less  in- 
tensely indeed,  but  with  a  vital  warmth,  in  millions  of  Christian  hearts.  He  longed 
for  that  self-denying  service ;  but  there  were  none  to  send  him  forth.  Disappoint- 
ments in  his  worldly  business  inflamed,  instead  of  discouraging,  his  desire  of  a  ser- 
vice so  self-denying,  and  to  worldly  minds  so  uninviting.  With  limited  opportunities 
and  means,  he  devoted  himself  to  study  in  preparation  for  that  work.  At  last  the 


57 

That  date,  1774,  which  marks  the  beginning  of  our  mis- 
sions, is  suggestive  of  another  topic.  In  1769,  the  General 
Association  was  assembled  in  this  town  of  Norwich  ;  and  then, 
for  the  first  time,  "  the  dark  and  threatening  aspect  of  Divine 
Providence  upon  our  nation  and  land,  in  regard  to  their  civil 
liberties  and  public  interest,"  is  noticed  on  the  record.  In  1774, 
a  spirited -and  patriotic  "  letter  of  condolence"  is  prepared  and 
sent  "  to  the  ministers  of  Boston,  under  the  present  melan- 
choly circumstances  of  that  town,"  "  suffering  the  severe 
resentment  of  the  British  Parliament."  la  1775,  the  General 
Association,  "  taking  into  serious  consideration  the  distressing 
and  melancholy  state  of  public  affairs  in  the  British  Americancol- 
onies,  and  the  dangers  they  are  now  threatened  with  from  the 
oppressive  measures  of  the  British  Court,"  summon  themselves 
and  their  brethren,  and  the  churches,  to  the  religious  duties  of 
so  great  a  crisis,  and  especially  to  devout  humiliation  and 
earnest  prayer.  In  1776,  the  "  General  Association  of  the  pas- 


the  Trustees  of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  two  years  after  the  institution  of 
that  Board,  were  persuaded  to  attempt,  on  a  very  small  scale,  a  mission  to  the  In- 
dians; and  he  was  commissioned,  for  six  months,  to  perform  a  journey  of  exploration 
and  experiment  among  the  Indian  tribes  in  that  unknown  wilderness  beyond  Lake 
Erie.  On  tlie  eighth  of  August,  1800,  he  set  forth  from  Hartford;  and  the  scale 
of  liberality  on  which  that  mission  was  to  be  supported  may  be  estimated  from  the 
fact  that  the  missionary  went  his  way,  not  only  alone,  but  on  foot,  and  with  his  lug- 
gage on  his  back,  to  rejoice  in  whatever  opportunities  he  might  find  of  being  helped 
along  by  any  charitable  traveler  with  a  spare  seat  in  his  wagon.  Having  acquired 
such  information  as  seemed  sufficient  to  determine  the  location  of  the  mission,  he  im- 
mediately returned,  and  on  the  first  of  January,  1801,  having  been  in  the  meantime 
solemnly  consecrated  to  his  work  by  ordination,  he  set  his  face  towards  the  wilder- 
ness again,  with  his  young  wife,  and  her  younger  brother,  a  boy  of  fourteen  years, 
[Beaumont  Parks,  Esq.,  now  of  Springfield,  Illinois,]  to  encounter  the  hardships,  not 
of  the  long  journey  only,  bnt  of  that  new  home  to  which  their  journey  would  conduct 
them.  Of  their  perils  and  privations  there — of  their  disappointments  and  discour- 
agements— I  might  speak,  if  the  time  and  the  occasion  would  permit.  I  will  only 
say  that  as  soon  as  the  inevitable  expenses  of  a  mission  so  far  remote  from  all 
civilized  communities,  and  involving  the  necessity  of  an  outlay  for  schools  and  for 
industrial  operations,  began  to  confound  the  limited  expectations  with  which  the  work 
had  been  attempted,  the  Trustees,  frightened  by  unexpected  drafts  on  their  treasury, 
abandoned  the  enterprise ;  and  the  missionary  was  ordered  to  New  Connecticut.  In 
the  month  of  August,  he  left  the  isle  of  Mackinaw,  with  his  wife  and  their  two  chil- 
dren, the  youngest  less  than  six  weeks  old ;  and  after  a  weary  and  dangerous  voyage, 
some  part  of  which  was  performed  in  an  open  canoe,  they  arrived  safe  on  the  soil  of 
the  Western  Reserve. — Tallmadye  Semi-cetUennial  Commemoration,  pp.  47  48. 

9 


58 

tors  of  the  consociated  churches  of  the  Colony  of  Connecti- 
cut" sends  out,  for  the  first  time,  a  printed  document.  That 
publication  contains,  among  other  matters,  a  formal  address  to 
the  pastors  and  the  churches,  portraying  the  necessity  of  re- 
pentance and  general  reformation,  and  of  seeking  God's  favor 
and  help  at  such  a  crisis.  In  1777,  the  quiet  change  of  a  sin- 
gle word  in  the  customary  heading  of  the  minutes,  intimates 
that  a  great  event  in  the  world's  history,  had  taken  place : 
"At  a  meeting  of  the  General  Association  of  the  STATE  of 
Connecticut."  The  Colony  of  Connecticut  had  ceased  to  be. 
Another  significant  fact  records  itself  upon  the  minutes  for 
1788.  "  On  motion  made  by  the  Association  of  the  western 
district  of  New  Haven  county,  the  Association  voted  that  the 
slave-trade  is  UNJUST,  and  that  every  justifiable  measure  ought 
to  be  taken  to  suppress  it.  Voted  also  that  Drs.  Goodrich,  Ed- 
wards and  Wales  be  a  committee  to  draw  up  an  address  and 
petition  to  the  General  Assembly,  that  some  effectual  laws  may 
be  made  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave-  trade."  A  reference  to 
the  records  of  the  State  will  show  that  at  the  next  session  of 
the  legislature  the  slave-trade  was  prohibited,  and  heavy  penal- 
ties denounced  against  it.  This  action,  however,  in  the  Gen- 
eral Association  of  1788,  was  by  no  means  the  beginning  of 
agitation  by  the  pastors  of  Connecticut  against  the  slave-trade, 
or  against  slavery.  Long  before  that  date,  the  pulpit  had  given 
an  unequivocal  testimony  against  the  injustice  of  converting 
human  beings  into  merchandize.  For  example,  I  have  before 
me  here  a  printed  copy  of  "  a  sermon  preached  to  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Freemen  in  Farmington,  at  their  meeting  on  Tuesday, 
September  20,  1774,  and  published  at  their  desire."  The  occa-' 
sion  of  the  meeting  was  the  semi-annual  election  of  repre- 
sentatives to  the  legislature.  The  preacher  was  Levi  Hart 
a  native  of  Farmington,  but  then,  and  for  a  long  time  after- 
wards the  honored  "  pastor  of  a  church  in  Preston."*  Lib- 

*  Dr.  Hart's  parish  in  Preston  is  now  the  town  of  Griswold. 


59 

erty  is  the  subject  of  the  sermon  ;  and  on  the  title-page  is  that 
holy  motto,  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because 
he  hath  annointed  me — to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives." 
Treating  of  liberty,  the  preacher  could  not  but  treat  of  slavery. 
In  the  preface  to  his  pamphlet,  he  offers  it  as  his  reason  for 
consenting  to  publish  his  discourse,  "  that  the  subject  and  oc- 
casion gave  him  opportunity  to  cast  in  his  mite  for  the  oppress- 
ed and  injured  Africans  whose  cause  he  thought  himself  bound 
to  plead,  and  to  bear  his  testimony  against  the  cruel  and  bar- 
barous slave-trade."  He  "  pretends  not  to  pronounce  on  the 
impropriety  of  the  slave-trade  in  a  political  view — this  would 
be  out  of  his  province  ;  but  he  would  submit  to  the  gentlemen 
of  the  law,  whether  the  admission  of  slavery  in  a  government 
so  democratical  as  that  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  doth  not 
tend  to  the  subversion  of  its  happy  constitution."  He  adds, 
"  Be  this  as  it  may,  if  the  slave-trade  is  contrary  to  the  law  of 
nature,  which  is  the  law  of  God,  it  is  more  than  time  it  was  ef- 
fectually prohibited."  He  professes  himself  "  fully  convinced 
that  there  is  no  more  reason  or  justice  in  our  enslaving  the  Af- 
ricans than  there  would  be  in  their  enslaving  us."  In  the  ser- 
mon itself,  he  says,  "  Of  all  the  enjoyments  of  the  present  life, 
that  of  liberty  is  the  most  precious  and  valuable,  and  a  state  of 
slavery  the  most  gloomy  to  a  generous  mind  ;  to  enslave  men, 
therefore,  who  have  not  forfeited  their  liberty,  is  a  most  atro- 
cious violation  of  one  of  the  first  laws  of  nature."  He  pro- 
nounces "  the  horrible  slave-trade,  carried  on  by  numbers,  and 
tolerated  by  authority  in  this  country,"  "  a  flagrant  violation 
of  the  law  of  nature,  of  the  natural  rights  of  mankind."  Such 
preaching  was  orthodox  before  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, and  however  it  may  be  elsewhere,  such  preaching  has 
never  ceased  to  be  orthodox  in  Connecticut.  In  that  very  year, 
1774,  the  doctrine  of  that  sermon  began  to  take  effect  upon 
the  legislation  of  the  Colony  that  had  not  yet  become  a  state. 
The  bringing  of  another  slave  into  Connecticut  was  thence- 


60 

forward  prohibited ;  and  heavy  penalties  were  laid  upon  the 
importer  and  the  purchaser.  The  continued  agitation  of  the 
great  wrong,  continued  to  have  its  effect  upon  our  legislation. 
Slavery  arid  the  slave-trade,  being  persistently  denounced  as 
wrong,  were  persistently  discouraged  by  the  state.  Four  years 
before  the  date  of  that  memorial  from  the  General  Association, 
slavery  itself  had  been  prospectively  abolished  by  an  act  provi- 
ding for  the  freedom  of  all  persons  born  thereafter.  The  memo- 
rial then,  from  the  General  Association  in  1788,  was  not  a  me- 
morial against  the  importation  of  slaves  into  Connecticut ;  for 
that  sort  of  slave-trade  was  already  effectually  prohibited.  The 
law  which  that  memorial  asked  for,  and  which  was  enacted 
accordingly,  was  a  law  making  it  penal  for  any  citizen  of  Con- 
necticut to  have  any  concern  in  the  African  slave-trade  any- 
where, "  as  master,  factor,  supercargo,  owner  or  hirer,  in  whole, 
or  in  part,  of  any  vessel."  It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten,  on 
such  an  occasion  as  this,  that  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  this 
State,  and  in  every  state  in  which  it  has  been  abolished  as 
yet,  is  due  in  no  small  measure  to  the  testimony  which  the  min- 
isters of  God's  word  have  given  against  the  moral  wrong  of 
slavery. 

It  was  not  found  in  those  days,  nor  was  it  pretended,  that  a 
fearless  holding  forth  of  God's  word  against  the  wickedness  of 
oppressing  the  poor,  and  of  buying  and  selling  men  for  gain, 
was  inconsistent  with  the  prosperity  of  spiritual  religion.  The 
transition  is  easy,  then,  to  another  feature  in  the  history  of  our 
second  half-century.  It  deserves  our  thankful  commemoration 
that  while  this  period  began  in  the  depth  of  the  religious  de- 
clension which  followed  the  revival  of  1740, — and  while  the 
first  five  and  twenty  years  of  the  half-century  [1758-1783] 
are  dark  with  signs  of  growing  demoralization,  and  with  the 
progressive  decay  of  godliness  under  the  influence  of  war,  of 
political  agitation  and  revolution,  of  universal  insolvency,  and 
of  every  temptation  which  comes  with  the  fluctuations  of  a 


61 

paper  currency  and  with  a  general  failure  to  fulfill  commercial 
engagements — the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth,  mark  the  blessed  era  of  the  re- 
newed and  continued  influence  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
reviving  of  religion.  From  that  time  forward  the  blessing 
has  never  been  entirely  withdrawn  from  our  churches.  The 
steady  prosperity  and  progress  of  religion  in  the  form  of  a 
manifested  work  of  God's  grace  within  the  soul, — our  increa- 
sed familiarity  with  the  phenomena  of  conversion  as  developed 
in  the  consciousness  and  in  the  life, — and  our  habit  of  distin- 
guishing and  teaching  our  people  to  distinguish,  more  carefully 
and  exactly,  after  the  manner  of  Edwards,  between  what  are 
and  what  are  not  the  tests  of  religious  experience — have  reac- 
ted, perhaps,  on  our  theology  in  some  particulars  ;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  our  theology,  coming  out  of  its  scholastic  formu- 
las, and  laying  aside,  to  some  extent,  in  our  public  minis- 
trations, the  costume  of  technical  phrases,  brings  forth  the 
ancient  and  immutable  truth  with  more  simplicity,  and  with 
less  danger  of  its  being  perverted  to  enthusiastic  or  fanatical  ex- 
travagance, if  not  with  greater  power  of  impression  on  the 
conscience  and  the  emotions.  May  we  not  say  with  humility 
that  we  have  learned,  better  than  our  fathers  knew — nay  that 
we  have  learned  by  their  experience  and  by  our  own — how  to 
deal  with  the  irregularities  and  extravagances  that  frightened 
them  ?  By  the  favor  of  God,  the  religious  awakenings  of  the 
present  century,  in  the  field  of  our  immediate  care  and  labor, 
have  been  followed  with  less  and  less  of  such  reaction  and  de- 
pression as  followed  the  great  awakening  of  1740,  and  caused 
it  to  stand  the  glorious  but  lonely  landmark  of  that  age. 

There  are  many  here  to  whom  the  most  memorable  changes 
of  the  last  half-century,  beginning  in  1808,  are  matters  of 
personal  remembrance.  Who  of  us,  for  example,  needs  to  be 
reminded  that  the  missionary  aspiration  and  effort  which  made 
its  little  mark  upon  our  records  in  1774,  and  which,  from  that 


62 

time  forward,  began  to  mingle  itself  with  all  the  sympathies 
and  yearnings  of  devotion  in  our  churches,  was  only  the  inti- 
mation, or  the  faintly  dawning  light  of  a  new  era  of  evangel- 
ism, which  in  1808  had  not  yet  begun  ?  At  that  date,  the  only 
organization  which  our  churches  had,  through  which  to  act  for 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel  at  home  or  abroad,  was  the  old 
Connecticut  Missionary  Society  with  its  annual  contribution 
in  the  month  of  May,  taken  in  all  the  congregations  by  virtue 
of  a  "  brief"  from  the  Governor,  and  ill  conformity  with  a  leg- 
islative order.  The  entire  system  of  those  arrangements  by 
which  we  are  now  acting  on  all  the  extent  of  our  country, 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  from  the  head  springs  of  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  Southern  Gulf — the  entire  system  by  which  we 
are  sending  out  the  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ,  not  only  to 
the  waste  places  and  wildernesses  of  our  own  broad  Union,  but 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth, — was  yet  to  be  developed,  and  has 
been  the  growth  of  our  last  half-century. 

That  annual  rescript  from  the  Governor,  authorizing  a  con- 
tribution in  the  churches  of  our  order  for  missions  to  the  new 
settlements,  reminds  us  of  another  and  most  conspicuous  fact 
in  the  history  of  the  last  fifty  years.  The  legal  establish- 
ment of  the  Saybrook  Platform — always  an  equivocal  thing, 
and  more  of  a  burthen  than  a  dignity  or  immunity  to  the 
churches  that  did  not  distinctly  dissent  from  the  system — was 
silently  but  finally  repealed  in  1784,  in  a  revision  of  the  stat- 
ute book.  The  churches  and  parishes  were  by  that  repeal  left 
to  adopt  whatever  scheme  of  doctrine  or  of  discipline  they 
might  severally  choose,  and  to  change  the  same  at  their  discre- 
tion. But  still  ours  was,  in  some  vague  sense,  '•  the  standing 
order.  "  The  adherents  of  every  other  religious  or  ecclesias- 
tical system  had  been  freed  from  every  burthen  or  shadow  of 
a  burthen  ;  but  public  worship  in  some  form  was  still  presu- 
med, by  law,  to  be  the  duty  of  every  citizen,  and  those  who 
did  not  prefer  to  be  enrolled  elsewhere  were  members  of 


63 

our  parishes.  Forty-two  years  ago,  this  last  vestige  of  the 
ancient  union  of  our  churches  with  the  civil  order  of  the  com- 
monwealth was  swept  away,  and  we  were  placed  fairly  and 
unequivocally  on  that  basis  of  absolute  religious  liberty  which 
Roger  Williams  invented  as  a  "  permanent  establishment  "  for 
Rhode  Island.  That  slight  change  was,  in  fact,  the  completed 
emancipation  of  our  churches. 

At  the  same  time,  though  not  wholly  by  the  same  process, 
our  churches  have  recovered  their  original  Congregationalism  ; 
and  perhaps  I  may  say  without  offense,  they  value  it  so  much 
the  more  for  their  having  had  some  experience  of  what  it  is  to 
be  without  it.  Our  ancient  Congregationalism  began  to  be  re- 
covered in  the  great  awakening  of  1740,  and  in  those  sharp  and 
strong  discussions  by  which  first  the  Stoddardean  Sacramental- 
ism,  and  then  the  half-way  covenant  were  demolished.  When 
that  leaven  of  a  national  church,  and  of  what  John  Davenport 
called  a  "  parish  way,"  had  been  purged  out  by  sounder  doc- 
trine and  by  the  wide  revival  of  religion  as  a  personal  experi- 
ence, there  began  to  be  of  course  a  yearning  and  a  half-con- 
scious endeavor  after  the  old  Congregational  way.  A  natural 
reaction  against  the  enthusiastic  errors  of  the  Separates,  made 
the  name  of  Congregationalism,  to  some  extent  obnoxious  to 
ministers  and  even  to  churches,  of  the  "standing  order:"  and 
the  struggle  against  the  already  incipient  rationalism  of  the 
following  age,  increased  in  the  clergy  at  least,  a  sense  of  the 
value  of  some  controlling  power  over  the  churches.  About 
sixty  years  ago,  several  of  the  most  honored  pastors  in  Con- 
necticut, gave  a  public  certificate  to  the  effect  that  the  system 
of  church  order  here  was  Presbyterianism.  I  myself  remem- 
ber when  the  name  "  Congregational "  was  not  ordinarily 
known  as  the  proper  and  distinctive  designation  of  our  churches; 
and  when  the  honored  successor  of  Thomas  Hooker  and  imme- 
diate predecessor  of  Dr.  Hawes,  wrote  himself,  and  printed 


64 

himself  "  Pastor  of  the  North*  Presbyterian  Church  in  Hart- 
ford. "  An  alliance  with  the  Americanized  Presbyterians  of 
the  Middle  and  Southern  States  was  begun  in  the  common 
resistance  to  the  proposed  establishment  of  an  American  Epis- 
copate by  the  British  government  before  the  revolution,  and 
was  renewed  after  the  war  of  independence,  in  the  expectation, 
doubtless,  that  both  parties  would  be  gradually  assimilated 
to  each  other,  and  would  ultimately  become  one  great  and 
powerful  body.  The  events  of  the  last  thirty  years  have 
taught  us  most  effectually,  that  the  idea  once  so  widely  cher- 
ished, is  purely  chimerical.  We  have  learned  that  nothing  on 
earth  is  more  impracticable  than  the  scheme  of  an  organic  Pres- 
byterian unity,  extending  its  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  terri- 
tory of  our  common  country,  and  binding  together  the  Chris- 
tian sympathies  and  co-operative  efforts  of  all  who  hold  our 
evangelical  faith,  and  who  reject,  on  the  one  hand,  the  prelat- 
ical  theory  of  church  government,  yet  accept,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  view  of  the  church  and  of  God's  covenant  with  his 
people,  which  regards  the  children  of  the  church  as  subjects  of 
baptism.  Our  exclusive  alliance  with  the  Scoto-American 
Presbyterianism  in  distinction  from  the  Dutch,  the  German  Re- 
formed, the  Lutheran,  and  all  other  organizations  of  like  princi- 
ples and  spirit,  may  have  been  wise  and  useful  in  its  day ;  but 
it  has  answered  its  purpose,  and  has  passed  away,  leaving  no 
trace  of  its  former  importance,  save  the  ceremonious  but 
pleasant  interchange  of  single  delegates  with  one  fraction  of 
the  now  broken  organization  with  which  our  fathers  concerted 
their  "  plan  of  union.  "  Our  churches  and  our  ministers,  deliv- 
ered from  what  had  become  an  "  entangling  alliance,"  are 
content,  and  more  than  content  with  the  simple  and  Scriptural 
policy  which  rejects  all  ecumenical,  national,  provincial,  arid 
classical  judicatures  ruling  the  churches  of  Christ,  and  recogni- 

*  At  that  time  what  is  now  "  the  North  Church  "  in  Hartford  was  not  instituted!; 
and  the  First  Church  and  Society  was  commonly  known  as  the  "  North." 


zes  no  church  on  earth  save  the  local  or  parochial  assembly  and 
fellowship  of  believers,  and  the  Church  Universal  which  in- 
cludes all  that  are  Christ's.  We  have  learned,  and  I  trust 
we  shall  never  forget,  that  the  only  visible  union  attainable  or 
really  desirable,  is  to  be  found  not  in  the  Presbyterian  idea  of 
government  over  churches,  but  in  the  Congregational  idea  of 
the  communion  of  churches. 

Meanwhile  in  proportion  as  that  old  and  true  idea  of  the 
communion  of  churches,  in  distinction  from   the  idea  of  na- 
tional, provincial  and  classical  jurisdiction,  has  been  more  clearly 
developed, — and  in  proportion  as  our  ecclesiastical  forms  and 
practices  have  been  progressively  disentangled  from  their  un- 
natural connection  with  principles  which  our  New  England  pol- 
ity originally  rejected,  there  has  been  a  steady  progress  in  the  feel- 
ing of  forbearance  and  kindness  to  ward  all  evangelical  dissenters 
from  our  order,  and  in  the  free  sense  of  catholic  unity  with  all 
the  churches  of  Christ  around  us,  whatever  their  distinctive 
names  or  forms.     Our  relations  to  other  bodies  of  professed 
Christians  holding  the  vital  truths  of  the  common  salvation, 
are  gradually  putting  off  the  unseemly  form  of  ecclesiastical 
separation   and   non-intercourse,    and   are  becoming  more  and 
more  transformed  by  the   spirit  of  Christian   brotherhood,  of 
mutual  recognition,  and  of  cooperation  in  the  common  cause. 
We   have   learned  that   such  acts  of  church  fellowship  with 
churches  outside  of  our  own  connection,  as  we  find  to  be  prac- 
ticable, are  our  privilege  and  our  duty.     We  are  learning  to 
avoid  all  needless  conflict  with  their  prejudices  against  our 
forms  of  order  and  discipline,  and  of  doctrinal  statement,  and 
to  count  it  among  our  advantages  that  we  can  recognize  them 
as  churches  of  Christ,  even  where  it  happens  that  by  their  sub- 
jection to  some  "  law  of  commandments  contained  in  ordin- 
ances "  they  are  unable  to  acknowledge  us.     I  trust  we  are 
learning  not  to  annoy  with  obtrusive  offers  of  cooperation  those 

whose  forms  forbid  them  to  cooperate  with  us,  nor  to  demand 
10 


66 

a  sacramental  communion  as  the  first  condition  of  Christian 
fraternity  with  those  whose  misfortune  is  that  they  find  them- 
selves forbidden  not  so  much  by  their  feelings  as  by  their  lo- 
gic or  their  traditions,  to  commune  with  us  in  the  recognition 
of  our  sacraments.     In  this  respect  the  true  genius  of  our  Con- 
gregational system  is  better  developed  with  us,  than  it  was  with 
our   fathers ;  and  is  it  not  in  this  direction  that  the  prospect 
opens  of  the  coming  age,  when  differences  of  judgment  in  the  less 
momentous  things  shall  no  longer  produce  alienation  of  feeling, 
or  any  incapacity  of  cooperation  for  Christ  and  his  kingdom, 
among  those  who  unite  in  accepting  the  faithful  saying,  that 
"  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  "  and  in 
maintaining  the  Apostolic  principle  that  "  with  the  heart  man 
believeth  unto  righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is 
made  unto  salvation."     Let  us  be  willing  to  learn  more  tho- 
roughly— as  God  in  his  providence  and  by  his  grace  has  already 
constrained  us  to  learn  in  part — the  wisdom  that  can  bear  the 
infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  that  can  be  tolerant  and   patient 
toward   the  ignorance  and  the  errors,  the  defects  and  the  ex- 
cesses, and  even  toward  the  narrowness  and  schismatic  exclu- 
siveness,  which  are  not  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  reality  of 
a  professed  faith  in  the  Saviour  of  sinners.    As  we  have  learned 
to  cooperate  with  other  churches  in  all   good  works  in  which 
they  can  cooperate  with  us,  let  us  be  willing  to  learn  the  added 
lesson  of  a  larger  and  more  catholic  charity  toward  those  who 
separate  themselves  and  work  apart.     So  shall  we,  cheerfully 
following  others  when  they  go  before  us,  and  gently  winning 
and  leading  onward  those  who  can  be  moved  by  our  example, 
leave  still  further  behind  us  the  days  and  the  spirit  of  sectarian 
strife.     He  who  leads  the  blind  by  a  way  which  they  know 
not,  has  led  us  in  this  way;  and  as  we  find  ourselves  brought 
out  by  no  wisdom  of  our  own,  from  the  chilling  enclosure  of 
high  and  strong  division  walls,  into  the  warm  sunshine  of  a 
and  brighter  day, — 


67 

"  The  breath  of  heaven,  fresh  blowing,  pure  and  sweet, 
With  day-spring  born," — 

let  us  say  to  that  guiding  spirit  of  catholic  freedom  and  frater- 
nity which  we  have  learned  already  to  enjoy — nay,  rather  let 
us  say  to  that  Holy  Spirit  of  God  who  seals  and  sanctifies  his 
elect  not  under  our  forms  of  ministration  only,  but  under  many 
forms, 

"  A  little  onward  lend  thy  guiding  hand 
To  these  dark  steps, — a  little  further  on." 

Our  churches  then,  in  recovering  their  original  Congrega- 
tionalism from  an  unfortunate  complication  with  ideas  and  prin- 
ciples derived  from  other  systems,  have  become,  and  are  still 
becoming,  not  more  sectarian,  but  less  so.  They  are  gaining, 
year  by  year,  if  I  mistake  not,  a  larger  and  more  catholic  habit 
of  thought  and  practice  in  relation  to  other  Christian  bodies,  than 
our  fathers  knew  ;  and  in  this  way  the  true  genius  of  our  sys- 
tem, with  its  two  cardinal  principles  of  the  completeness  and 
self-government  of  each  local  church  under  Christ,  and  of  the 
free  communion  of  the  churches  with  each  other, — is  finding 
its  natural  and  full  development. 

I  feel  that  the  historical  survey  which  we  have  taken  is  in- 
adequate to  the  theme,  and  may  be  found  to  need  correction  in 
many  of  the  particulars,  if  not  in  the  general  outline  ;  but  I 
may  say  that  I  have  endeavored  to  perform,  in  a  truthful  and 
impartial  spirit,  the  duty  which  was  assigned  to  me.  We  have 
traced  imperfectly  indeed,  and  indistinctly,  but  not  without 
conscientious  care,  the  circumstances  in  which  the  peculiar 
confederation  of  our  churches  had  its  beginning,  the  original 
intent  and  purpose  of  the  arrangement,  the  method  in  which 
it  was  established,  the  measure  of  success  which  attended  its 
early  administration  as  a  scheme  of  ecclesiastical  power,  and 
the  modifications  which  three  half-centuries,  so  full  of  moral 
and  political  changes,  and  of  religious  awakening  and  progress, 
have  wrought  in  the  manner  and  spirit  of  its  working.  What 
then  has  been  the  use  of  that  "  ecclesiastical  constitution" 


68 

which  was  set  up  in  the  little  wilderness  colony  of  Connec- 
ticut, one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  ?  What  is  there  which 
makes  the  first  meeting  of  our  General  Association  an  event 
worthy  of  the  commemoration  which  it  receives  from  us  to- 
day ?  The  answer  to  such  a  question  is  incorporated  with  all 
the  history  of  American  Congregationalism  from  that  day  to 
the  present  hour.  Nowhere  in  the  United  States  does  any 
intelligent  man  think  of  Congregationalism  as  a  method  of  ec- 
clesiastical organization  and  communion  without  including  in 
the  thought  two  elements  which  are,  partly  at  least,  the  con- 
tribution of  Connecticut  to  the  completeness  and  stability  of 
the  system. 

Everywhere  throughout  the  United  States,  we  find  as  an 
inevitable  incident  of  Congregationalism,  the  voluntary  but 
formal  and  recognized  association  of  pastors  and  other  min- 
isters. These  clerical  "  Associations  "  are  not  for  any  juris- 
diction or  government  over  the  churches  ;  they  abjure  all  pre- 
tense of  corporate  authority,  and  the  churches  everywhere  have, 
long  ago,  ceased  to  regard  them  with  suspicion.  They  are 
simply  associations  of  Congregational  ministers  for  fellowship 
and  mutual  improvement,  for  mutual  advice  and  help  in  the 
exigencies  of  their  work,  for  examining  and  certifying  to  the 
churches  the  qualifications  of  candidates  for  the  ministry,  for 
consultation  on  whatever  relates  to  the  interests  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  and  for  giving  united  counsel  or  testimony  on  what- 
ever question  of  ecclesiastical  order,  of  Christian  duty,  or,  if 
need  be,  of  religious  doctrine,  may  fairly  come  before  them. 
It  has  been  proved  by  experience  that  without  the  recognized 
and  formal  association  of  pastors  for  such  purposes,  the  churches 
will  become,  in  the  strife  of  sects  and  the  fluctuations  of  opin- 
ion, a  prey  to  the  spoiler.  It  was  in  Connecticut,  and  as  are- 
suit  of  our  Saybrook  constitution,  that  such  association  of  pas- 
tors, never  dreamed  of  by  the  framers  of  the  Cambridge  Plat- 
form, became  an  established  arrangement  in  the  system  of  Con- 


69 

gregationalism.  Some  rudimental  attempts  at  such  association 
seem  to  have  been  made  before,  especially  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Boston  ;  but  the  idea  now  universally  accepted,  of  a  sys- 
tem of  clerical  associations  spreading  over  the  whole  country, 
including  all  Congregational  ministers  who  recognize  each  oth- 
er's regular  standing  in  the  clerical  profession,  maintaining  a 
widely  extended  intercourse  by  delegation  and  correspondence, 
and  giving  unity  and  completeness  to  our  ecclesiastical  system 
without  infringing  at  any  point  on  the  self-government  of  the 
churches,  seems  not  to  have  been  entertained  elsewhere  till  the 
usefulness  of  associations  had  been  proved  by  experience  in 
Connecticut. 

The  other  element  of  our  Saybrook  constitution,  namely, 
the  special  consociation  of  churches  in  districts,  has  found  less 
favor  beyond  the  limits  of  Connecticut  ;  but  the  example  of 
our  confederation  has  had  its  influence  everywhere.  The  sta- 
ted annual  meeting  of  churches  by  their  delegates  in  what  are 
called  "  Conferences  of  churches,"  for  consultation  on  the 
state  of  religion  within  their  own  bounds,  and  on  the  ways  and 
means  of  doing  good,  is  only  another  form  of  consociation, 
which  differs  from  ours  by  leaving  to  each  church  an  unlimited 
liberty  to  select  its  own  councils  in  all  cases  of  difficulty  in  the 
administration  of  its  own  affairs.  And  everywhere — unless 
the  partiality  incident  to  my  position  as  a  Connecticut  Congre- 
gationalist  misleads  my  judgment — the  sentiment  of  the  com- 
munion of  churches,  the  consciousness  of  the  duty  which 
churches  owe  to  each  other,  and  the  habit  of  mutual  watchful- 
ness and  helpfulness  among  churches  of  the  same  vicinity,  have 
been  sustained  and  invigorated  by  the  example  of  constant 
fidelity  to  each  other  among  our  churches.  Notwithstanding 
the  well  defined  propositions  of  the  Cambridge  Platform  con- 
cerning "  the  communion  of  churches  one  with  another,  "  and 
notwithstanding  the  many  recorded  yearnings  of  the  New  Eng- 
land fathers  for  some  stipulated  and  constant  intercourse  that 


70 

should  not  impair  the  independence  of  the  churches,  our  Amer- 
ican Congregationalism  might  have  lost,  in  process  of  time,  that 
great  principle  of  communion  and  mutual  responsibility  which 
is  no  less  essential  to  the  system  than  the  coordinate  principle 
of  independence  ;  each  being  the  complement  of  the  other.  If 
the  churches  of  Massachusetts,  by  their  chronic  jealousy  of  con- 
sociation, have  guarded  and  kept  intact,  for  us  and  our  succes- 
sors, the  independence  of  the  parochial  or  local  church,  the 
churches  of  Connecticut,  on  the  other  hand,  by  their  strict  con- 
federation, have  guarded  and  maintained,  and  have  effectually 
commended  to  Congregationalists  everywhere,  that  equally 
important  and  equally  distinctive  principle  of  our  polity,  the 
communion  of  churches. 

But  it  is  here  chiefly,  in  our  own  goodly  heritage,  that  we  are 
to  look  for  the  good  that  has  resulted  from  what  our  old-time 
predecessors  loved  to  call  "  the  ecclesiastical  constitution  of 
the  colony."  Our  own  Connecticut — to  our  filial  hearts  the 
glory  of  all  lands — how  much  is  it  indebted  for  the  present  as- 
pect of  its  Christian  civilization,  to  that  organized  association 
of  its  clergy,  and  that  strict  confederation  of  its  churches, 
which  were  effected  when  as  yet  there  was  within  our  boun- 
daries neither  church  nor  pastor  of  any  other  ecclesiastical  order  ! 
The  unconsociated  churches,  yielding  to  the  genius  of  the 
system  while  rejecting  its  forms,  have  shared  in  the  blessing. 
The  churches  that  have  been  formed  by  dissent  and  secession 
from  us — Episcopalian,  Baptist,  and  Methodist — have  had  in 
all  their  growth,  the  benefit  of  being  planted  in  our  Puritan 
soil,  and  of  being  stimulated  and  invigorated  by  the  strong  re- 
ligious influence  that  has  not  yet  ceased  to  mold  the  character 
of  our  native  population.  Is  there  no  meaning  in  the  fact  that 
not  one  of  our  churches,  and  only  one  of  our  parishes  fell  in 
the  Unitarian  defection  ?  To  my  thought  there  is  a  similar 
meaning  in  the  fact  that  while  Congregationalism  still  remains 
stronger  in  Connecticut  than  in  any  other  State,  the  Episcopa- 


lians  of  Connecticut  are,  in  proportion  to  our  aggregate  popu- 
lation, one  of  the  strongest  dioceses  in  the  Union,  and  the  Bap- 
tist and  Methodist  churches  among  us,  are  also  almost  as  strong 
in  numbers,  and  quite  as  strong  in  the  elements  of  religious 
character  and  influence,  if  I  mistake  not,  as  the  average  of  those 
two  most  numerous  and  powerful  bodies  of  Christian  churches 
in  all  the  states  and  territories  of  the  Union.  To  my  thought 
there  is  a  meaning  of  the  same  sort  in  the  fact  that  of  all  the  re- 
ligious organizations  commonly  regarded  as  anti-evangelical 
or  anti-orthodox,  not  one  has  ever  flourished  among  the  native 
population  of  our  State.  Whatever  fault  we  may  find  in  our 
ecclesiastical  system — whatever  errors  may  have  been  made  from 
time  to  time  in  the  working  of  it, — whatever  reason  we  may  have 
to  inquire  whether  the  system  needs  revision  and  reconstruction, 
or  to  blame  ourselves  as  ministers  and  churches  of  Christ,  that  we 
have  not  adapted  our  arrangements  with  adequate  skill  and  zeal 
to  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  habits  and  condi- 
tion of  our  people — our  own  Connecticut,  to-day,  with  all  its 
imperfections,  is  the  convincing  testimony  to  the  value  of  those 
two  principles — the  association  of  pastors  for  professional  fellow- 
ship and  mutual  cooperation,  and  the  friendly  confederation  of 
churches — which  were  first  inaugurated  and  made  effective  by 
our  fathers,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  Where  does  the 
sunlight  gild  a  landscape  more  adorned  with  the  evidences  of 
Christian  civilization  ?  Where  can  we  find  so  large  a  body  of 
churches  in  so  small  a  territory,  maintaining  more  effectually, 
on  the  whole,  "  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace," 
and  cherishing  at  the  same  time  a  more  catholic  charity  toward 
dissenters  and  seceders  from  their  order  ?  Where,  notwith- 
standing the  perpetually  renewed  investigation  of  all  truth,  and 
the  sometimes  personal  sharpness  of  our  theological  debates, 
do  we  find,  in  so  large  a  body  of  pastors  and  ministers,  so  little 
of  factious  partizanship,  and  so  much  of  fraternal  intimacy,  as 
among  our  clergy  ?  Where  shall  we  find  a  happier  solution  of 


the  difficult  problem  how  to  reconcile  a  complete  ecclesiastical 
liberty  with  a  well  guarded  ecclesiastical  fellowship,  evangel- 
ical orthodoxy  with  evangelical  liberality  and  charity  ;  the  con- 
servative reverence  that  stands  upon  the  ancient  paths,  with 
the  progressive  spirit  that  prays  for  new  light  from  the  fountain 
of  light,  and  ever  striving  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  the 
ages,  honors  God  by  expecting  a  brighter  future  ? 

Such  is  our  inheritance.  Such  the  trust  which  we  have  re- 
ceived from  those  who  have  lived  and  labored  here  before  us. 
It  is  for  us,  in  our  turn,  not  merely  to  preserve  the  inheritance 
unimpaired,  but  to  amplify  it  with  new  riches,  and  to  adorn  it 
with  a  fairer  beauty.  May  God  give  us  grace  so  to  live  and  la- 
bor through  the  remnant  of  our  time,  that  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us  shall  bless  him  for  our  memory,  as  we  bless  him  for  the 
memory  of.  our  fathers ! 


ADDRESSES. 


THE    THREE    PRINCIPLES    OF    CONGREGA- 
TIONALISM. 


BY  PROF.  E.  A.  LAWRENCE,  D.  D.,  EAST  WINDSOR  HILL. 

MR.  MODERATOR  : 

There  are  epochs  in  history,  or,  as  Bossuet  calls  them,  stand- 
still points,  at  which  institutions  and  principles  disclose  their 
character  by  their  results.  The  present  occasion  is  such  a 
point  in  the  history  of  the  Congregationalism  of  Connecticut 
and  New  England.  It  is  wise,  sir,  to  stop  awhile  here  and 
question  the  past  respecting  those  principles  which  we  and  our 
fathers  have  regarded  as  fundamental.  We  do  well  to  come  up 
to  this  post  of  retrospection,  and  ask  our  history  to  give  us  the 
elements  of  prophecy  and  of  future  guidance. 

A  little  more  than  two  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago,  a  com- 
pany of  men,  women  and  children  "  with  the  cattle,"  started 
from  Dorchester,  in  the  "  Bay  "  Colony  for  the  Connecticut 
valley.  It  comprised  the  larger  part  of  the  church  in  that  town, 
with,  as  some  say,  Mr.  Wareharn,  the  pastor,  at  its  head.  They 
made  their  way  slowly  through  the  wilderness,  up  ravines  and 
over  mountain-passes,  beginning  and  ending  each  day's  journey 
with  prayer  and  songs  of  praise.  Their  settlement  was  at 
Matianuck,  now  Windsor  ;  and  in  its  spirit  of  Christian  enter- 
prise, was  a  genuine  "  church  extension  movement.  "  They 
were  soon  followed  by  Hooker  and  his  company  from  Cam- 
bridge, who  went  on  to  Hartford.  After  these  came  Daven- 
port and  his  companions,  just  from  England,  whom,  because 
they  were  a  "very  desirable  folk,  "  the  Massachusetts  people 
wished  to  have  settle  in  "  the  Bay.  "  But  because,  as  Daven- 
port said  "they  were  Londoners  and  not  so  well  fitted  for  an 
agricultural  as  a  commercial  settlement,  "  they  went  on  "  in 
advance  of  all  others  "  to  duinnipiac,  now  New  Haven.  Their 
arrival  was  on  Saturday  evening,  and  the  next  day,  Mr.  Dav- 

12 


74 

enport  preached  on  the  "  Temptation  in  the  wilderness.  "  At 
the  beat  of  the  drum,  they  assembled  in  the  forest  aisles  of 
that  vast  temple  whose  arch  is  the  blue  expanse,  and  where, 
from  forest  harps,  the  winds  made  rich  choral  music  for  the 
devout  worshippers,  and  sweetly  mingled  it  with  their  vocal 
praises. 

The  animus  of  these  extension-movements  in  New  England, 
dates  back  historically  to  the  Puritan  struggles  for  the  rights 
of  conscience  in  Old  England,  and  indicates  the  three  great 
principles  of  Congregationalism — Christ  the  sole  Legislator  in 
the  church,  his  Word  the  Law,  and  his  Spirit,  the  Life  of  the 
church. 

It  was  upon  the  first  of  these  principles  that  the  Non-Con- 
formists separated  from  the  Church  of  England  under  Eliz- 
abeth in  1566.  The  Kingly  office  of  Christ,  so  patent  in  the 
New  Testament,  and  in  early  Church  History,  though  re- 
maining in  the  creeds  of  the  Romish  Church,  had  been  practi- 
cally displaced  by  the  assumption  of  Pontifical  power.  The 
English  Reformation  only  transferred  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Church  in  England  from  the  Pope  to  the  King,  and  the  evil 
remained.  In  connection  with  this  infelicity  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  church,  "  as  by  law  established,  "  she  who  was 
reigning  sovereign  when  the  Puritan  struggle  began,  and  who, 
by  the  apostolic  constitution,  was  required  to  "  keep  silence  in 
the  churches,  "  or  if  she  would  learn  anything,  "  ask  her  hus- 
band at  home, ''  not  only  had  no  husband  and  would  not  be 
silent,  but,  with  her  advisers  claimed  that  her  word  was  abso- 
lute. This  brought  on  the  issue. 

It  was  not  a  question  of  doctrine,  for  the  parties  were  in  essen- 
tial agreement  on  the  Thirty-nine  Articles.  Nor  was  it  one  of 
apparel,  for  the  Puritans  allowed  this  to  be,  in  itself,  non-essen- 
tial. But  it  was,  of  the  binding  force  in  the  church  of  this  wo- 
man's word,  as  above  the  kingly  authority  of  Christ.  She 
forbade  them  to  preach,  except  what  she  authorized,  and  as  she 
authorized  it.  The  Puritans  protested,  and,  trusting  them- 
selves to  the  adjudication  of  the  Great  Lawgiver,  preached  on. 

In  the  time  of  Charles  I.  and  Laud,  the  restrictions  and  pro- 
hibitions became  still  more  oppressive.  The  royal  will  was 
supreme  in  matters  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal.  Passive  sub- 


75 

mission  was  the  regnant  dogma,  and  personal  freedom  was  lost 
in  the  power  of  the  prince.  The  rights  of  conscience  were 
nothing  ;  the  Bible  was  nothing;  the  Kingship  of  Christ,  even 
in  his  own  spiritual  domain,  was  nothing.  Honest  and  Chris- 
tian men  in  vain  pleaded  it  in  their  defence  as  free  preachers  of 
a  free  Gospel.  This  pressure  of  arbitrary  power  on  such  men, 
in  such  a  cause,  produced  the  Hegira  of  Congregationalism, 
first  to  free  Holland,  and  afterwards  into  this  wide  and  freer 
wilderness. 

Here  the  framers  of  our  polity  made  loving  loyalty  to  Christ 
as  the  sole  Lord  and  Legislator,  the  chief  corner-stone  of  their 
ecclesiastical  and  doctrinal  system.  "  This  was  and  is  our 
cause  in  coming  here,  "  said  honest  John  Higginson,  of  Salem, 
"  that  Christ  alone  might  be  acknowledged  by  us  as  the  only 
Head,  Lord,  and  Lawgiver.  "  This  principle  gradually,  but  le- 
gitimately worked  out  the  separation  of  the  Church  and  the 
State,  and  gave  to  them  both,  liberty,  harmony  and  vitality. 
It  secured  religious  toleration  to  all,  by  the  doctrine  of  a  strict 
accountability  of  each,  in  matters  of  conscience,  to  one  com- 
mon Head.  And  so  salutary  were  its  results  in  the  mother  coun- 
try, that  the  sceptical  Hume  admits  that  the  English  nation  is 
indebted  to  the  Puritans  for  all  the  liberty  of  its  Constitution. 
And  the  Westminster  Review,  with  all  its  antipathy  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Calvin,  is  forced  to  yield  the  eulogium  which  the  his- 
toric conscience  demands,  that  his  polity  was  a  vigorous  effort 
to  supply  a  positive  education  of  the  individual  soul — to  substi- 
tute free  obedience  for  passive  submission — not  a  police,  but  an 
education,  self-government  mutually  enforced  by  equals  upon 
each  other — that  Sparta  against  Persia,  was  not  such  odds  as 
Geneva  against  Spain  with  the  Jesuits  and  the  Inquisition — 
that  Calvinism  saved  Europe. 

The  second  of  these  great  principles  follows  logically  from 
the  first — Christ's  Word  the  only  law  in  the  church.  This 
Word,  with  the  Fathers  of  Congregationalism,  was  not  simply 
a  higher  law,  but  the  highest.  In  their  constructive  work, 
they  applied  faithfully  the  Protestant  principle — "  The  Bible, 
the  whole  Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible.  "  Cotton  Mather 
says  of  them  "  The  Bible  was  their  perpetual  and  only  guide.  " 
"  The  parts  of  our  government,"  says  the  Cambridge  Platform, 


76 

"  are  all  of  them  exactly  described  in  the  Word  of  God.  "  And 
the  counsels  of  the  Saybrook  fathers,  whose  wisdom  we  here 
commend  to-day,  by  commemorating  it,  are  explicit  and  in 
point — "  That  you  be  immovably  and  unchangably  agreed  in 
the  only  sufficient  and  invariable  rule  of  religion,  which  is  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  You  ought  to  account  nothing  ancient  that 
will  not  stand  by  this  rule,  and  nothing  modern  that  will. 
That  you  be  determined  by  this  rule  in  the  whole  of  religion. 
That  your  faith  be  right  and  divine,  the  Word  of  God  must  be 
the  foundation  of  it,  and  the  authority  of  the  Word  the  rea- 
son of  it." 

This  Word  of  God  was  not  indeed,  their  only  book,  though 
it  was  their  Alpha  and  Omega.  They  studied  it  most,  and  in 
such  a  manner,  according  to  the  rule  of  Melancthon,  as  to  judge 
of  the  advice  and  decrees  of  men,  by  comparing  them  with 
this  as  a  touchstone.  They  had  all  of  the  argument  from  anti- 
quity which  is  worth  anything,  by  making  this  Divine  Law, 
which  is  the  most  ancient,  the  sum  or  the  source  of  all  their  au- 
thoritative regulations.  Their  faith  and  polity  were,  in  the  best 
sense,  traditional,  because  they  started  from  those  infallible 
Scriptures  which  were  "  given  by  inspiration  of  God."  The 
old  writers  with  whom  this  principle  of  Congregationalism 
brings  its  adherents  into  most  constant  and  living  communion, 
are  the  writers  of  our  old  Bible.  Whosoever  of  the  reputed 
fathers  stands  opposed  to  these,  is  not  of  the  fathers,  but  the 
children,  and  those  too  described  by  Isaiah,  who  "behave 
themselves  proudly  against  the  ancients,  the  base  against  the 
honorable. " 

The  polity  which  was  thus  drawn  out  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
arranged  in  the  Platform,  is  not  Brownism,  as  it  has  sometimes 
been  called, — an  absolute  independency  ;  for  the  independency 
is  modified  by  the  community  and  fellowship  of  the  churches 
and  the  moral  power  of  councils.  It  differs  also  from  Presby- 
terianism,  the  community  of  churches  being  prevented  from 
becoming  an  organic  external  unity  by  the  individualizing  in- 
fluence of  the  independency.  It  is  simply  Congregational,  pla- 
cing the  governing  power,  not  in  the  elders  exclusive  of  the 
church,  but  in  the  church  inclusive  of  the  elders.  It  embraces 
the  Consociation  of  churches,  and  the  Association  of  ministers, 


77 

and  makes  use  of  both  stated  and  occasional  councils.  It  holds 
to  the  church  and  the  churches,  the  visible  and  invisible,  the 
militant  and  triumphant  ;  and  harmonizes  and  employs  to  the 
practical  ends  of  life  and  love,  the  elements  of  freedom  and 
fellowship,  dependence  and  responsibility,  law  and  liberty. 
The  Law  stands  sentinel  to  guard  the  churches  from  anarchy, 
and  the  Liberty  in  like  manner,  to  preserve  the  church  from 
despotism. 

It  is  one  of  the  crowning  excellencies  of  these  principles, 
that  they  allow  us  to  erect  no  human  fences  around  our  most 
sacred  enclosure  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  require  us  to  frater- 
nize with  all  Christ-loving  evangelists,  in  seeking  what  is  bet- 
ter than  any  mere  forms  or  polity,  as  our  "Plans  of  Union" 
and  "  Heads  of  Agreement  "  abundantly  testify.  With  an 
unsparing  hand,  under  their  influence,  we  have  sown  our  purest 
seed-wheat  upon  the  virgin  -soil  of  the  boundless  West,  and 
with  little  unhallowed  jealousy,  seen  the  golden  harvest  gath- 
ered by  Presbyterian  reapers  into  the  Presbyterian  barns.  The 
flax,  even  in  our  own  New  England  fields,  has  been  freely 
pulled  by  Presbyterian  hands,  and  the  wool  clipped,  with  our 
consent,  from  the  flocks  on  our  New  England  hills,  by  Presby- 
terian shearers,  and  spun  and  woven  into  Presbyterian  fabrics. 
In  a  similar  spirit,  Presbyterianism  has  in  turn  placed  itself  in 
helpful  relations  to  Congregationalism.  Both  have  joined 
their  forces  without  stint,  as  sowers  and  reapers  in  the  same 
iields,  according  to  the  law  of  Christ,  which  makes  his  church 
one,  and  that  love  of  Christ,  in  the  exercise  of  which,  each 
was  more  desirous  that  men  should  become  Christians  than 
Congregationalists  or  Presbyterians. 

With  the  same  reverent  regard  to  the  authority  of  Christ's 
Word  as  law,  the  confessions  of  our  faith  were  framed.  When 
the  Saybrook  fathers  came  to  their  work  in  1708,  they  found 
a  time-honored  symbol  drawn  from  the  Word  of  God  by  the 
Westminster  divines,  in  1643.  Five  years  later,  after  careful 
examination  and  comparison  with  the  Bible,  it  was  adopted  by 
the  framers  of  the  Cambridge  Platform  at  Boston. — Still  again 
in  1680,  a  synod  in  Boston  placed  this  Confession  on  more 
thorough  trial,  according  to  the  Law  and  the  Testimony,  and 
with  slight,  verbal  alterations,  made  by  the  Independents  at  the- 


7S 

Savoy,  London,  in  1658,  it  was  again  adopted  as  the  teaching 
of  scripture,  and  the  faith  of  the  churches. 

After  all  these  trial-processes,  by  the  best  minds  and  hearts, 
the  most  learned  and  self-denying  of  the  age,  the  fathers  at 
Saybrook  once  more  bring  it,  sentence  by  sentence,  to  the  Di- 
vine standard,  and,  upon  this  "  diligent  inquiry,  solicitous 
search,  and  faithful  prayer/'  commended  it  to  the  churches  of 
Connecticut,  as  "  well  and  fully  grounded  upon  Holy  Scrip- 
ture." 

In  its  general  type  of  doctrine,  it  was  termed  Calvinian, 
not  that  Calvin  invented  it,  or  gave  it  authority  or  efficacy.  For 
it  had  been  germinating  in  the  church  long  before  John  Cal- 
vin's day,  and  by  God's  grace,  made  him  what  he  was,  one  of 
the  most  lucid  expounders  and  illustrious  exemplifiers  of  its 
truth,  by  his  life  of  laborious  self-denial  and  love.  It  was  also, 
in  its  main  features,  Lutheran  and  Augustinian,  yet  older  than 
either  of  these  distinguished  men,  whom  it  drew,  the  one  from 
the  dead  body  of  forms  and  will-worship,  and  the  other  from 
the  pride  of  the  philosophies,  evincing  by  these  and  similar 
sublime  moral  victories,  that  it  is  the  power  of  God  and  the 
wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation  to  them  that  believe.  In  the 
present  century,  it  has  fought  with  Unitarianism  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  conquered  : — with  the  vaunting  hosts  of  German 
Rationalism  and  conquered ;  and  on  the  same  field,  with  the 
subtlest  forms  of  spiritualistic  Pantheism  and  conquered.  And 
now  it  is  abroad,  in  the  name  and  by  the  power  of  the  Lord, 
making  conquests  from  Brahrftanism,  Buddhism  and  Moham- 
edanism,  causing  the  wilderness  of  heathendom  to  bud  and 
blossom  as  the  rose. 

The  impugners  of  this  Puritan  theology  have  pronounced 
upon  it  as  contracted,  contradictory  and  adverse  to  the  culture 
and  advancement  of  the  age.  But  these  pronouncings  are 
contradicted  by  every  fair  rendering  of  the  facts  of  history. 
These  show  that  the  profoundest  masters  of  wisdom  and  of 
reason — the  most  pains-taking  and  successful  students  in  his- 
tory, philosophy  and  the  Divine  Word,  have  been  the  products 
of  its  power,  and  the  producers  of  all  the  worthiest  advance- 
ment and  culture.  In  the  judgment  of  Bancroft,  our  most 
philosophic  historian,  the  Calvinian  theology,  instead  of  being 


79 

narrow,  illiberal,  or  irrational,  "combines  and  perfects  the  sym- 
bolic wisdom  of  the  Orient,  and  the  reflective  genius  of  Greece  ; 
conforming  to  reason,  yet  enkindling  enthusiasm,  *  *  * 
guaranteeing  absolute  freedom,  yet  invoking  the  inexorable  re- 
straints of  duty  :  awakening  the  inner  man  to  a  consciousness 
of  his  destiny,  and  yet  adapted  with  exact  harmony  to  the  outer 
world."  Of  President  Edwards,  the  most  profound,  yet  prac- 
tical New  England  representative  of  this  theology,  the  same  his- 
torian has  more  recently  said,  "  All  his  teachings  bear  the  marks 
of  universality,  and  he  looked  to  the  establishment  of  his 
views  as  reasonable.  The  practical  character  of  his  system,  in 
its  adaptation  to  Christian  life  and  action,  is  worthy  of  partic- 
ular observation.  On  the  one  hand  it  has  ever  asserted  against 
the  pride  and  pomp  of  human  oppressors,  the  doctrines  of  divine 
sovereignty  and  election,  thus  giving  individual  freedom  to 
society,  under  the*  restraints  of  self-imposed  divine  law.  On 
the  other,  looking  to  the  mediation  of  Christ,  as  the  manifested 
fulness  of  the  Godhead",  in  union  with  the  equally  complete, 
the  recovered  and  fully  developed  manhood  for  the  world's 
highest  weal,  it  places  '  love  as  the  central  point  of  its  view 
of  creation,  and  the  duty  of  the  created.'  ;  This  is  the  judg- 
ment of  historical  criticism  upon  the  doctrinal  system  of  our 
churches,  rendered  by  the  most  dispassionate  and  impartial  ex- 
aminers. It  bears  the  marks  of  universality  because  of  its  de- 
rivation from  the  Word  of  the  Universal  Lord  and  Father  of 
all ;  because  it  has  from  the  beginning,  been  in  the  bosom  of 
the  living,  universal  church,  and  has  ever  fully  met  the  deepest 
spiritual  needs  of  the  universal  fallen  humanity. 

The  third  grand  principle  of  Congregationalism,  completes 
its  basis — Christ's  spirit  the  life  of  the-Church. 

The  former  two  find  their  complement  in  this,  not  in  the  Pan- 
theistic theory  of  an  identity  of  substance  and  life  in  God  and 
man,  but  of  a  fallen,  dependent  creature,  dead  in  sin,  yet  cre- 
ated anew  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  all  holy  obedience.  The  com- 
mencement of  this  new  life  in  man  is  regeneration,  and  makes 
him  like  Christ  ;  and  the  fellowship  of  the  regenerate  consti- 
tutes, in  its  vital  principle,  the  church.  Without  this,  it  fails, 
whatever  may  be  its  doctrines,  polity  or  activities.  And  what- 
ever of  these  in  the  church,  does  not  minister  to  this  Christ-like 


80 

life  in  its  members  is  useless,  and  does  not  belong  to  it.  And 
whatsoever  obstructs  its  free  and  full  onward,  conquering  move- 
ment in  the  individual  soul,  or  the  church,  is  anti-Christ ;  and 
however  time-honored,  corporate  or  organic,  must  be  thrown 
off.  In  this  view  our  Puritan  fathers  were  most  solidly  grounded. 
As  everything  in  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdom  holds  a 
subservient  relation  to  the  vital  principle,  so  they  believed  it 
was  divinely  arranged  to  be  in  the  church.  This  spirit  of 
Christ,  which  is  the  life  of  the  church,  is  central,  and  works  as 
in  its  Head,  from  the  interior  outward.  The  law  and  order 
which  Christ  has  established,  are  its  normal  forms,  and  the  con- 
ditions of  its  freest  and  most  salutary  activities.  Little  by  little 
it  works  the  soul  free  from  its  prejudices,  errors  and  sins,  and 
brings  it  into  the  completed  likeness  of  Christ.  It  incorporates 
into  the  church  whatsoever  of  human  susceptibilities,  senti- 
ments or  culture  is  homogeneous,  and  beats  back  and  destroys 
whatsoever  in  humanity  is  antagonistic,  which  it  does  not  trans- 
form into  an  ally. 

Hence  from  this  central  and  vital  principle  of  our  polity, 
Congregationalism  is  charitable  and  catholic  as  well  as  discrim- 
inating. It  believes  in  "  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,"  and  em- 
braces in  it  all  who,  by  faith  and  obedience,  embrace  Christ  as 
the  head.  It  opens  its  communion  to  all  who  are  in  commun- 
ion with  Him,  while  it  makes  compromises  with  none  in  their 
errors,  or  in  the  evil  of  their  life.  Hence,  too,  the  Congrega- 
tional idea  of  unity  lies  deeper,  and  is  more  vital  than  that 
of  uniformity.  The  true  apostolic  succession  is  in  the  doc- 
trine, life  and  labors  of  the  apostles,  with  apostolic  results.  It 
is  a  "  unity  of  the  spirit,  "  with  "  diversities  of  gifts,"  like  the 
law  of  the  vegetable  world,  which  holds  all  the  divers  plants 
and  trees,  buds  and  blossoms,  fragrance,  fruits  and  beauty — 
all  by  the  central,  organific  unity  of  life,  as  living  subjects  of 
the  same  vast  kingdom. 

"  All  that  believe,"  said  Cromwell  to  the  Long  Parliament, 
"have  the  real  unity,  which  is  the  most  glorious  because  in- 
ward and  spiritual,  in  the  Body,  and  h  the  Head." 

Our  fathers  loved  their  church-order,  because  it  was  so  sim- 
ple, so  scriptural,  and  tended  to  what  is  superior  to  any  mere 
polity — to  the  truth  of  doctrine,  purity  of  morals  and  the  life 


81 

of  Christian  love.  And  the  history  of  New  England  from  the 
time  the  Mayflower  moored  at  Plymouth,  amply  justifies  their 
preference.  Where  are  churches  marked  by  a  more  patient 
and  prayerful  study  of  the  Scriptures,  or  a  more  profound,  yet 
rational  reverence  for  their  sovereign  wisdom  and  authority, 
as  a  rule  of  faith  and  life  ?  Where  those  distinguished  by  a 
purer  and  more  salutary  doctrine,  or  the  application  of  more 
deep,  practical,  heaven-guided  thought  to  the  great  problems 
of  man's  being,  duties  and  destiny?  Where,  since  the  age  of 
the  apostles,  has  faith  wrought  out  more  amply  and  legitimately 
the  works  of  godlike  charity  to  the  poor  at  home,  and  the  hea- 
then abroad,  than  has  this  faith  of  Eliot  and  Mayhew,  of  Ed- 
wards and  Brainard,  of  our  Harriet  Ne  wells  and  Mrs.  Judson's? 
Where  has  been  nurtured  a  purer  social  ethics,  that  has  made 
the  family  more  a  seminary  of  all  that  is  pure  and  lovely  and 
of  good  report,  and  raised  around  the  marriage  covenant,  the 
sacred  center  of  the  family,  its  heaven-high  walls  of  defense  ? 
Where  are  found  such  systems  of  instruction  for  all  classes, 
such  philanthropic  and  charitable  institutions  for  the  poor,  the 
deaf,  the  dumb,  and  the  blind  ; — such  Christ-like  exertions  for 
mitigating  the  miseries  of  this  life,  and  inspiring  hope  for  the 
life  to  come,  as  have  sprung  up  here  in  New  England,  where 
the  doctrines  and  polity  of  our  fathers,  for  nearly  two  centuries 
and  a  half,  have  had  their  existence  and  action  ?  In  what  place 
or  period,  in,  or  out  of  New  England,  has  the  reverse  of  this 
been  most  realized  in  history, — or  the  picture  been  most  marred 
or  darkened  by  the  vices  of  men  and  their  demoralizing  doc- 
trines ?  Just  where  this  Bible  faith  and  ethics  have  been  most 
resisted  and  impugned. 

Thus,  by  an  appeal  to  that  trial-word  of  Christ  the  Lord, 
"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  the  faith  of  our  fathers 
stands  historically  verified  as  genuine,  and  their  doctrine  as 
substantial  truth.  They  are  verified  by  the  constant  endeavors 
after  moral  perfection,  by  the  transparent  sincerity  and  self-de- 
nial which  they  have  produced,  and  by  a  free  obedience  to  ev- 
ery word  of  the  Supreme  from  the  life-forces  of  truth  and  love 
which  they  have  occasioned. 


12  A 


THE  CATHOLICITY  OF  CONGREGATIONALISM. 


BY  REV.  THEODORE  WOOLSEY,  D.  D.,  PRESIDENT  OF  YALE  COLLEGE. 


The  subject  of  President  Woolsey's  address  was  the  Catho- 
licity of  the  Congregational  Body.  Having  attempted  after 
many  months  to  revive  his  recollections  of  his  address,  the 
speaker  was  able  by  the  aid  of  very  brief  notes  to  give  the  fol- 
lowing outline : 

Holding  in  his  hand  an  ancient  copy  of  the  Saybrook  Plat- 
form, which  had  come  down  from  President  Stiles,  as  an  heir- 
loom of  the  Presidents  of  Yale  College,  he  read  from  the  heads 
of  agreement,  assented  to  at  the  time  when  the  Saybrook  Plat- 
form was  arranged,  that  the  ministers  of  Connecticut,  as  others 
had  done  before  them,  received  the  doctrinal  Articles  of  the 
Church  of  England,  the  Confession  or  Catechisms,  shorter  or 
larger,  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  the  Savoy  Confes- 
sion to  be  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God.  This  readiness  to  re- 
ceive various  expositions  of  their  faith  as  equivalents,  and  the 
habit  of  accepting  them  for  substance  of  doctrine,  shows  the 
independence  of  Congregationalists  upon  any  human  standards. 
Connected  with  this  independence  is  their  catholicity. 

But  what  is  catholicity  ?  The  speaker,  while  confessing 
that  perhaps  his  conception  of  it  was  not  quite  as  definite  as  it 
ought  to  be,  defined  it : 

1.  To  be  a  preponderance  of  belief,  and  of  interest  in  the 
Church  Universal,  while  the  particular  church  or  form  or  polity 
takes  the  background  in  the  mind. 

2.  It  consists  in  an  overlooking  of  things  wherein  Christians 
differ,  and  a  disposition  to  unite  in  common  fundamental  doc- 
trines. 

3.  It  is  manifested  by  a  readiness  to  cooperate  with  other 
Christians  in  movements  of  religion  and  benevolence.     Those 
who  lack  the  catholic  spirit  separate  themselves  from   general 
efforts,  and  feel  that  their  field  lies  in  promoting  the  interests 


83 

of  a  particular  church  or  denomination;  they  suspect  true 
Christian  union  ;  they  suspect  the  theories  of  other  Christian 
bodies  as  being  heretical  or  unchristian  ;  in  short  the  reasons 
for  separate  action  accumulate  before  their  minds,  while  those 
for  joint  action  become  faint  and  few,  until  they  can  scarcely 
contemplate  religion  in  its  brightness,  but  only  as  it  is  colored 
by  the  goggles  of  their  own  sect. 

It  was  then  asked  whether  Congregationalism  has  a  catholic 
tendency.  That  it  has  such  a  tendency  was  argued  from  sev- 
eral facts.  First,  we  see  willingness  to  cooperate,  without 
thinking  of  sectarian  advantage.  Instances  of  this  were  drawn 
from  the  old  agreement,  or  plan  of  union  between  the  Gen- 
eral Association  of  Connecticut  and  the  General  Assembly, 
and  from  the  cooperation  in  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society,  in  which,  to  say  the  least,  the  churches  of  New  Eng- 
land never  asked,  and  never  would  have  asked,  but  for  move- 
ments begun  by  others,  whether  they  were  not  doing  more  than 
their  share. 

Another  proof  was  derived  from  great  liberality  in  doctrine. 
The  Congregationalists  have  always  put  faith  before  forms,  and 
have  thought  lightly  of  forms :  they  might,  notwithstanding, 
have  been  narrow  in  doctrine,  had  not  the  free  spirit  of  the  in- 
dividual and  of  the  single  independent  church  promoted  free- 
dom of  thought  among  them,  and  given  rise  to  smaller  differ- 
ences of  opinion  amid  agreement  in  fundamentals.  The  ac- 
tive spirit  of  theological  inquiry,  which  has  been  prevalent  in 
New  England,  shows  that  the  churches  exercise  no  repressing 
influence  on  religious  speculation;  and  the  alarms  which  are 
continually  given  out,  that  they  are  breaking  away  from  the 
moorings  of  the  gospel,  show  that  churches  nearly  akin  to  them 
in  theology,  but  unlike  them  in  constitution,  cannot  understand 
or  receive  such  freedom. 

Still  another  illustration  of  the  catholic  spirit  was  drawn 
from  the  ease  and  freedom  with  which  Congregationalists  pass 
over  into  another  denomination.  The  Church  Universal  is 
the  highest  idea  at  home,  and  when  they  find  the  essential  el- 
ements of  that  idea  realized  elsewhere  in  their  emigrations, 
their  chief  religious  want  in  regard  to  a  church  is  satisfied. 

But  how,  it  was  asked,  does  Congregationalism  promote  the 


84 

catholic  spirit  ?  Two  ways  were  mentioned.  First  by  the 
simplicity  of  its  worship  and  organization.  It  may  be  lia- 
ble to  the  reproach  of  being  naked  and  disjointed,  of  being  bare 
bones  without  flesh,  and  of  being  a  collection  of  atoms  forming 
no  whole.  Whether  this  reproach  be  just  or  not,  this  is  cer- 
tain :  that  no  great  organized  body  comes  between  the  partic- 
ular church  and  the  holy  Church  Universal,  to  catch  and  detain 
the  affections  as  they  rise  up  toward  the  lofty  idea  of  a  Chris- 
tian community,  or  to  produce  party  spirit,  and  sectarian  zeal, 
and  mingle  a  certain  selfish  interest  in  efforts  for  the  noblest 
of  causes. 

Again,  the  power  of  the  laity  in  the  Congregational  churches 
favors  a  catholic  spirit.  Whether  the  just  balance  of  power  is 
attained  in  their  system  or  not  may  be  questioned ;  but  this  seems 
to  be  sure,  that  where  the  clergy  have  the  chief  or  sole  power, 
a  large  catholic  feeling  becomes  nearly  impossible ;  that 
an  order  of  ecclesiastics,  placed  above,  depresses  a  laity  placed 
below,  and  by  this  depression,  if  it  would  support  its  power  by 
argument,  must  make  the  church  narrow  and  exclusive.  The 
laity,  enjoying  power,  will  not  be  apt  to  use  that  power  fur- 
ther than  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  their  own  freedom,  for 
they  are  not  officers  ;  but  the  officers,  having  acquired  power, 
will  use  it  to  control  the  private  members  of  the  church,  and 
must  maintain  themselves  by  a  theory  opposed  to  the  doctrine 
of  parity  in  the  body  of  the  faithful. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  CONNECTICUT. 


BY  REV.  JOEL  HAWES,  D.  D.  OF  HARTFORD. 

MR.  MODERATOR  : 

I  am  sure  that  my  brethren  in  the  ministry  know  well  how 
perplexing  it  is  to  a  speaker  to  have  several  subjects  before  his 
mind  at  the  same  time,  and  not  know  which  one  to  select  as 
the  theme  of  his  address.  I  find  myself  in  just  such  perplexity  at 
this  time.  When  requested  a  few  weeks  since  to  say  some- 
thing on  the  present  occasion,  my  thoughts  fixed  upon  a  sub- 
ject which  seemed  appropriate,  and  which,  having  much  occu- 
pied my  mind  of  late,  I  intended  to  make  the  topic  of  present 
remark.  "  It  is  the  means  of  improving  and  extending  our 
Congregationalism"  But  since  I  came  here  I  have  doubted 
whether  I  could  do  any  thing  like  justice  to  the  subject  in  the 
few  minutes  allowed  me.  And  besides,  being,  as  you  know, 
naturally  of  a  rather  timid  make,  I  feared  that  if  I  should  give 
full  utterance  to  my  sentiments  on  the  subject  in  question,  I 
might  disturb  the  feelings  of  some  of  my  too  independent 
brethren,  and  so  I  thought  it  best  to  pass  it  by.  I  then  pro- 
posed to  be  silent.  But  as  I  could  not  willingly  be  excused,  I 
shall  confine  myself  to  a  few  remarks  on  the  first  church  estab- 
lished in  Connecticut.  I  feel  a  delicacy  in  speaking  on  that 
subject  in  this  presence,  as  it  comes  too  nearly  in  contact  with 
myself.  But  I  wish  to  forget,  and  to  have  my  hearers  forget, 
for  the  time,  that  I  have  any  connection  with  the  church  of 
which  I  am  to  speak,  and  to  say  what  I  have  to  say  simply  as 
a  matter  of  history. 

The  first  church  established  in  this  State  removed  from 
Newtown,  now  Cambridge,  Mass.,  to  its  present  locality  in 
Hartford,  in  the  early  part  of  June,  1636, — just  two  hundred 
and  twenty-three  years  ago  this  month.*  Its  founders  were, 

*  As  it  was  claimed  by  ome  of  the  speakers  at  the  late  meeting  at  Norwich  that,  not 


86 

as  Cotton  Mather  calls  them,  a  "choice  collection  of  men" 
from  Braintree  and  its  vicinity  in  Essex  county,  England.  A 
portion  of  them  came  to  this  country  in  1632,  and  settled  at 
Newtown.  There,  on  the  llth  of  October  the  next  year, 
having  been  joined  by  several  others  who  came  over  the  pre- 
ceding month  with  Messrs.  Hooker  and  Stone,  whose  ministry 
they  had  enjoyed  in  England,  they  were  organized  into  a 
church,  and  the  two  distinguished  men  just  named  were  or- 
dained its  pastor  and  teacher.  It  was  the  eighth  church  estab- 
lished in  New  England,  and  the  first  in  Connecticut.  It  came 
through  the  wilderness  with  its  pastor  and  teacher,  and  about 
one  hundred  souls  ;  and  after  a  wearisome  journey  of  fourteen 
days  over  hills  and  valleys,  and  rivers  arid  swamps,  the  compa- 
ny of  pilgrims  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  "  beautiful  Connec- 
ticut," and  set  up  the  standard  of  the  cross  on  the  spot  where 
the  church  now  has  its  home,  and  where  it  has,  from  the  first, 
maintained  uninterruptedly  the  worship  of  God  and  the  ordi- 


the  church  in  Hartford,  but  the  church  in  Windsor  was  the  first  established  in  Con- 
necticut, it  seems  proper  briefly  to  state  the  facts  in  the  case. 

The  church  in  Windsor  was  organized  in  Plymouth,  England,  January,  1630,  and 
Messrs.  Warham  and  Maverick  were  constituted  its  pasters.  It  removed  to  this  coun- 
try the  summer  following  and  commenced  a  settlement  in  Dorchester.  The  church 
in  Wethersfield  was  organized  in  February,  the  same  year,  at  Watertown,  and  Kev. 
Mr.  Phillips  became  its  pastor. 

The  church  in  Hartford  was  organized  Oct.  1633,  at  Newtown — now  Cambridge, 
and  Messrs.  Hooker  and  Stone  were  ordained  its  pastor  and  teacher. 

The  question  in  regard  to  removing  to  Connecticut  began  to  be  agitated  in  each  of 
these  churches  about  the  same  time.  Some  of  the  members  visited  Connecticut  as 
early  as  1632  or  1633.  A  small  company  established  themselves  at  Wethersfield  in 
1634,  and  made,  it  is  believed,  the  first  settlement  on  the  river. 

During  the  summer  of  1635  several  of  the  people  of  Dorchester  congregation  re- 
moved to  a  point  on  the  river  near  the  Plymouth  trading  house,  and  prepared  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  the  town  of  Windsor.  In  the  autumn  of  this  year  a  company  of 
sixty  persons,  among  whom  were  many  women  and  children,  set  out  on  their  tedious 
march  for  this  new  country.  Most  of  these  settled  in  Hartford.  As  yet  no  church 
existed  in  the  State.  There  were  individual  Christians  but  no  organized  church. 

In  June,  1636,  as  stated  in  the  text,  the  church  at  Newtown  removed  with  its  pastor 
and  teacher,  and  settled  in  Hartford.  This  then  was  the  first  church  estab- 
lished in  the  State.  There  were  settlers  at  Windsor  as  there  were  also  at  Wethers- 
field, but  no  church,  no  minister,  no  preaching,  nor  ordinances.  Rev.  Mr.  Phillips 
never  removed  with  his  people  to  Wethersfield.  Rev.  Mr  Maverick,  pastor  of  the 
Windsor  church,  died  in  1636,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Warham  his  colleague,  did  not  remove 
to  Windsor  till  the  September  following. 

The  question  whether  the  church  in  Hartford  or  the  church  in  Windsor  was  the 
first  established  in  the  State,  is  in  itself  of  very  little  importance.  But  one  does  not 
like  to  be  put  in  the  wrong  when  he  knows  he  is  in  the  right. 


87 

nances  of  the  gospel.  It  has  had  ten  pastors — I  am  the  tenth, 
and  nine  of  them  lie  buried  with  the  people  to  whom  they 
preached.  It  has  never  dismissed  a  minister — a  fact  which 
speaks  well  for  the  church  and  also  for  the  ministers  who  have 
served  them  in  the  Lord  ;  and  I  account  it  a  far  higher  honor 
to  be  found  in  this  succession  of  faithful  servants  of  God,  than 
I  should,  to  be  numbered  in  what  is  proudly  claimed,  in  certain 
quarters,  as  the  Apostolical  succession.  The  church,  establish- 
ed at  the  first  on  sound,  evangelical  doctrine,  has  maintained 
essentially  the  same  doctrine  through  every  successive  genera- 
tion of  its  membership.  Slight  deviations  there  may  have 
been,  but  never  such  as  to  shake  or  mar  the  fundamentals  of 
faith,  its  first  faith.  Always  Calvinistic,  always  holding  the 
great  essentials  of  New  England  orthodoxy,  it  has  never 
swung  from  the  foundation  on  which  it  was  built  by  Hooker 
and  Stone,  nor  been  carried  about  or  disturbed  by  any  of  the 
many  winds  of  doctrine  that  have  swept  over  the  land  ;  and  it 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  an  interesting  historic  fact,  that 
just  the  periods  when  evangelical  doctrine  was  held  in  highest 
esteem  in  the  church,  and  preached  most  plainly  from  the  pul- 
pit, have  been  the  periods  of  the  church's  greatest  spiritual 
prosperity  and  growth.  Hooker  and  Stone  were  marked  men 
in  their  day,  especially  the  former.  He  has  been  called  "  the 
light  of  the  New  England  churches,  and  the  oracle  of  the  Col- 
ony of  Connecticut ;"  and  his  influence,  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
did  more  than  that  of  any  other  man  to  give  form  and  order  to 
the  churches  of  this  State.  He  was  the  father  of  the  sys- 
tem of  consociation.  It  was  a  favorite  and  oft  repeated  re- 
mark of  his — "  We  must  have  the  consociation  of  the  churches, 
or  we  are  ruined ;"  and  the  good  working  of  the  system  for  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  shows  that  he  did  not  attach  too  much 
importance  to  it.  It  has  exerted  a  most  happy  and  efficient 
influence  in  preserving  the  faith  and  order  of  our  churches,  and 
it  has  secured  to  them  a  measure  of  peace  and  prosperity,  un- 
surpassed by  any  other  equal  number  of  churches  in  the  land. 
The  first  church  in  Hartford  is  a  consociated  church,  and  such, 
I  trust,  it  wil!.  ever  remain,  as  sure  I  am  that  it  will,  so  long  as  it 
conducts  orderly  and  well,  but  should  it  shake  off  this  charac- 
ter and  become  unsettled  in  faith,  or  impatient  of  rule  and  or- 


88 

der,  it  will  be  quite  likely  to  break  off  from  consociation  and 
unite  with  others  to  pull  down  the  system  as  a  useless  and 
hurtful  incumbrance  to  the  churches.  And  this,  I  am  sorry  to 
believe,  is  one  of  the  unhappy  tendencies  of  our  times.  There 
is,  1  fear,  a  growing  disposition  among  many  to  break  down 
the  order  of  the  churches  established  by  our  fathers  and  fall 
back  into  loose  independency.  That  the  effect  of  this  will  be 
to  weaken  our  churches  and  gradually  to  open  the  way  for  the 
coming  in  of  error  and  misrule,  I  have  the  deepest  conviction ; 
and  with  this  conviction,  I  cannot  forbear  to  repeat,  for  the  ad- 
monition of  all  whom  it  may  concern,  the  language  of  two 
of  the  venerable  fathers  of  New  England,  uttered  by  them 
just  before  they  ascended  to  their  reward  in  heaven.  "  We  do 
earnestly  testify  that  if  any  who  are  given  to  change,  do  rise 
up  to  unhinge  the  well  established  churches  in  this  land,  it  will 
be  the  duty  and  the  interest  of  the  churches  to  examine 
whether  the  men  of  this  trespass  are  more  prayerful,  more 
watchful,  more  zealous,  more  heavenly,  more  universally  con- 
scientious, and  more  willing  to  be  informed  and  advised,  than 
those  great  and  good  men  who  left  unto  the  churches  what 
they  now  enjoy  ;  if  they  be  not  so,  it  will  be  wisdom  for  the 
children  to  forbear  pulling  down  with  their  own  hands  the 
houses  of  God  which  were  built  by  their  wiser  fathers,  till  they 
have  better  satisfaction."  You  see  how  the  subject  on  which 
I  first  intended  to  speak  will  intrude  itself  into  my  mind.  I 
wished  to  show  that  it  is  no  time  to  weaken  or  to  cut  asunder 
the  few  bands  that  bind  the  several  parts  of  our  Congregational- 
ism together.  They  need  rather  to  be  strengthened  and 
drawn  closer  together  so  that  there  may  be  more  compactness 
and  organic  unity  in  our  denomination  both  in  this  State  and 
throughout  the  land.  We  want,  our  whole  denomination 
wants,  a  common  platform  of  faith  and  order,  a  declaration, 
or  manifestation  of  doctrine  and  polity,  which  shall  operate  as 
a  band  of  union  to  our  entire  body,  and  serve  both  to  bind  us 
together  in  unity  of  faith  and  action,  and  to  declare  to  all  who 
may  wish  to  know,  distinctly,  and  fully,  who  and  what  we 
are  ;  what  we  believe  ;  and  what  we  do  in  the  order  and  gov- 
ernment of  our  churches  ;  a  fact  which  cannot  now  be  learnt 
from  any  general  document  of  acknowledged  authority. 


89 

But  this  is  off  my  track.  I  shall  be  pardoned,  however,  I 
trust ;  for  I  was  pressed  by  an  internal  force  which  would 
not  be  resisted.  I  return  to  my  subject.  The  church  of  which 
I  am  giving  a  brief  historic  sketch,  as  the  first  established  in 
the  State,  has  been  distinguished  for  its  stability,  peace  and 
harmony.  So  far  as  I  can  learn  it  has  never  been  agitated  or 
disturbed,  but  in  a  single  instance,  since  its  formation,  by  any 
serious  controversy  or  dispute  either  about  doctrine  or  disci- 
pline. The  case  of  difficulty  referred  to  occurred  in  the  early 
history  of  the  church,  and  was  occasioned  by  a  dispute  upon 
some  ecclesiastical  topic  between  Mr.  Stone  and  the  ruling  elder, 
relating,  it  is  thought,  to  the  qualifications  for  baptism,  church- 
membership  and  the  rights  of  the  brotherhood.  It  was  of  long 
continuance,  and  of  wide  spread  and  disastrous  influence.  Cot- 
ton Mather,  in  his  quaint  style,  remarks  "  that  from  the  fire  of 
the  altar  there  issued  thunderingsand  lightnings  and  earthquakes 
through  the  colony."  He  says  also,  that  the  true  original  of 
the  misunderstanding  was  about  as  obscure  as  the  rise  of  Con- 
necticut river.  It  is  known,  however,  that  Mr.  Stone's  ideas 
of  Congregationalism  bordered  more  on  Presbyterianism  than 
those  of  most  of  the  first  ministers  in  New  England.  His 
sententious  definition  of  Congregationalism  was,  "A  speaking 
aristocracy  in  the  face  of  a  silent  democracy."  From  this  it 
would  seem  not  unnatural  to  infer  that  the  schism  referred  to 
had  in  it  a  spice  of  Presbyterianism,  and  this  perhaps  was  one 
reason  why  it  was  so  long  continued  and  so  hard  to  be  cured. 
However  this  may  be,  it  is  good  to  know  that  this  is  the  first 
and  only  difficulty  of  any  importance  that  has  existed  in  the 
church  to  disturb  its  peace  for  more  than  two  hundred  years. 
And  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say  that,  during  the  almost  forty- 
two  years  I  have  been  with  the  people  as  their  minister,  they 
have  never  by  any  associated  act  or  movement  of  theirs,  given 
me  an  half  hour's  uneasiness.  Were  I  to  assign  the  cause  of 
this  long  continued  union  and  harmony  enjoyed  by  the  people, 
I  should  say  that,  under  God,  it  has  been  owing  to  a  spirit  of 
mutual  concession ;  to  the  fact  that  none  have  assumed  to  dictate 
or  to  rule  without  the  consent  of  others,  and  that  when  the 
majority  have  decided  a  question,  the  minority  have  been  ac- 
customed peaceably  to  acquiesce.  The  church  has  ever  be- 

13 


90 

lieved  in  revivals  of  religion,  and  owes  all  its  prosperity  to 
these  oft  repeated  visitations  of  heaven's  mercy.  The  ministry 
of  Mr.  Hooker,  while  in  his  native  land,  "  was  crowned  with 
wonderful  success  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  Multitudes  under  his 
preaching  became  the  subjects  of  renewing  grace,  many  of 
whom  removed  to  this  country  and  were  the  founders  and  first 
members  of  the  church  of  which  he  and  Mr.  Stone  were  con- 
stituted pastors.  After  its  removal  from  Cambridge  and  estab- 
lishment in  its  present  location,  signal  were  the  displays  of 
grace  in  the  midst  of  it.  An  early  writer  referring  to  this 
period,  exclaims :  — "  O,  that  converting  glory,  which  did  then 
appear!  Multitudes  were  converted  to  thee,  O  Zion  ! — Multi- 
tudes, multitudes  were  converted  to  thee,  O  Hartford  !  to  thee, 
O  New  Haven  !  to  thee,  O  Windsor!"  Passing  over  the  inter- 
vening period  during  which  there  is  evidence  that  the  church 
was  frequently  blessed  with  revivals,  we  come  to  the  ministry  of 
my  immediate  predecessor,  Dr.  Strong.  He  was  ordained  in 
1774.  The  first  twenty  years  of  his  ministry  were  compara- 
tively unfruitful,  owing  in  part  to  the  disturbed  state  of  the 
country,  occasioned  by  the  revolutionary  war,  and  in  part  to 
his  own  deficiency  in  fidelity  and  devotedness  to  his  work. 
But  the  last  twenty-two  or  three  years  of  his  life,  witnessed  a 
great  change  in  him  and  in  the  fruits  of  his  labors.  A  con- 
verted man,  it  is  believed,  before  this,  he  now  experienced 
what  seemed  a  second  conversion,  and  his  ministry  was  in  de- 
monstration of  the  Spirit  and  with  power.  He  lived  to  witness 
four  revivals  among  the  people  of  his  charge.  Large  numbers 
were  added  to  the  church,  among  whom  were  many  leading 
men  in  the  community;  and  the  general  tone  of  religion  was 
greatly  elevated  and  advanced  in  spirituality  and  power. 

In  1818,  I  was  called  to  take  charge  of  the  church,  since 
which  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  witness  nine  special  seasons 
of  revival  among  the  people,  the  most  remarkable  of  which 
was  in  1821  when  nearly  two  hundred  were  added  to  the 
church  during  the  year.  As  the  result  of  these  revivals  the 
church  has  been  largely  increased  in  numbers,  and  I  trust  also 
in  spirituality  and  fruitfulness  unto  God.  Three  colonies  have 
gone  forth  from  it.  since  I  became  its  pastor,  to  form  other 


91 

churches  in  the  city.  It  has  sent  eighteen*  young  men  into 
the  ministry,  once  of  its  membership,  and  nurtured  and  trained  in 
ils  bosom.  It  has  borne  a  comparatively  generous  part  in  sus- 
taining and  promoting  the  cause  of  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sions, and  the  various  other  benevolent  operations  of  the  day. 
Its  contributions  (including  the  congregation,)  in  aid  of  these 
objects  have  amounted  for  the  last  twenty  years,  to  from  six 
to  eight  thousand  dollars  annually. 

Such  is  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  First  Church  estab- 
lished in  Connecticut.  In  many  respects  it  may  be  put  down  as 
a  model  church.  And  yet  it  is  far,  very  far  removed  from  the 
scriptural  standard.  It  has  faults,  many  and  great  faults, 
which,  if  I  thought  it  would  do  any  good  either  to  it  or  to 
other  sister  churches,  I  would  be  just  as  frank  to  name  as  I  have 
been  to  speak  of  its  virtues.  The  millennium  has  not  yet 
dawned  upon  it.  Indeed  it  is  far  from  having  come  to  that 
spirituality  and  fruitfulness  in  its  membership  and  communion 
which  I  trust  it  will  attain  at  some  future  day.  Being  the 
oldest  church  in  the  State,  it  is  somewhat  too  staid  and  un- 
bcndable  in  its  habits.  It  is  perhaps  too  much  afraid  of 
Young  America,  and  is  not  sufficiently  aware  that  the  best 
way  to  guide  that  fast  youngster  is  not  to  stand  off  at  a  for- 
bidding distance,  but  to  come  near,  lay  a  soft  hand  upon  him, 
and  go  along  by  his  side  speaking  kind  words  and  gently  hold- 
ing him  in  with  a  flexible  rein.  The  church  has  always  seem- 
ed willing  to  let  me  do  very  much  as  I  had  a  mind  to  do ;  but 
I  have  not  found  them  just  as  ready  as  I  could  wish  to  come 
forward  and  help  me,  especially  in  occasional  religious  meet- 
ings, and  other  active  labors.  I  have  often  complained  of 
this  to  them,  as  they  do  very  well  know — and  I  have  hoped 
that  there  has  been  some  improvement  of  late  in  a  free  out- 
flow of  feeling  and  speech,  and  active  co-operation,  one  with 
another  and  with  the  pastor.  Still  there  is  great  room  for 
progress  in  the  matters  here  referred  to  as  well  as  in  many 
others  that  might  be  named.  But  I  must  say  of  the  old  first 
church  in  Connecticut,  as  Cowper  said  of  his  native  Old  Eng- 
land :  "  With  all  thy  faults.  I  love  thee  still."  And  I  account  it 

*  Besides  these,  seventeen  others,  though  less  directly  trained  in  the  church,  have 
passed  from  its  membership  into  the  ministry. 


92 

the  greatest  joy  and  blessing  of  my  life,  that  I  have  been  per- 
mitted to  serve  the  church  as  its  pastor  so  many  laborious,  but 
very  happy  years.  And  now  as  I  look  to  the  end  of  my  course — 
not  distant  I  know,  and  see  the  river  before  me  on  the  shore  of 
which  I  have  parted  with  so  many  of  my  dear  people,  the 
loved  members  of  my  church,  as  I  clasped  them  by  the  hand 
and  bade  them  farewell  on  their  way  to  heaven,  it  gives  me 
new  joy  to  think  that  I  shall  ere  long  cross  the  same  stream, 
and  through  grace,  as  I  humbly  hope,  shall  go  to  join  them  in 
the  celestial  city,  and  with  them  rejoice  forever  in  the  presence 
of  God  and  the  Lamb. 


THE  MISSION  OF  CONGREGATIONALISM  AT  THE 

WEST. 

BY  REV.  T.  M.  POST,  D.  D.,  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 

MR.  MODERATOR  : 

I  have  interpreted  my  call  to  this  historic  commemoration  as 
a  recognition  of  the  fact  that  Western  Congregationalism  is  a  part 
of  your  history  ;  a  colonial  offshoot  and  exponent.  As  in  the 
triumphs  of  ancient  Rome,  representatives  from  the  frontiers  and 
outposts — from  Thrace  and  Germania,  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Nile — swelled  the  pageant  of  the  ovation,  as  exponential  of  the 
expansive  genius  and  aspirations  of  the  empire ;  so  your  sons 
from  beyond  the  Mississippi  are  invited  here  to-day  as  represen- 
tatives not  of  imperial,  but  of  evangelical  aspirations,  stretch- 
ing to  the  Pacific.  I  have  supposed  it  the  expectation  of  that 
call  that  I  should  speak  of  the  relations  of  Congregationalism 
to  that  new  world  where  my  manly  life  has  been  spent.  In  so 
doing,  I  design  to  speak,  not  by  way  of  arraignment  of  those 
differing  from  myself — among  such  are  my  true  brothers,  both 
in  blood  and  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ — but,  fraternally  conce- 
ding to  them  the  same  right  of  judgment  I  claim  for  myself,  I 
design  to  look  simply  to  the  logic  of  our  position  as  Congrega- 
tionalists.  All  that  I  would  say  is  the  evolution  of  a  few  great 
principles  which  I  can  do  little  but  barely  state  on  this  occasion. 

And,  first,  I  may  certainly  assume  in  this  presence  that 
Congregationalism  is  a  distinctive,  substantive  entity,  not  a 
mere  accident,  prejudice,  caprice,  or  custom,  commutable  into 
something  else  at  pleasure  ;  but  an  individual  essence,  trans- 
latable by  no  synonym,  and  having  characteristic  principles, 
peculiar  either  in  kind  or  in  degree  and  extent  of  working,  found- 
ed on  Scripture  and  the  nature  of  man. 

I  do  not  believe  that  those  distinctive  principles  of  church 
polity  for  which  our  fathers  in  the  seventeenth  century  separa- 
ted from  other  Non-conformists,  in  that  conflict  which  shook 
down  the  English  monarchy,  and  those  which  they  so  much 
prized  as  the  great  gift  of  God  to  them  in  the  wilderness  of  the 


94 

New  World — I  do  not  believe  these  distinctive  principles  are 
mere  unsubstantial  illusions  or  prejudices. 

I  will  premise,  morever,  that  as  these  principles  lie  not  within 
the  domain  of  feeling,  but  of  logic,  and  are  not  the  creations 
of  feeling,  nor  to  be  assumed  or  laid  down  at  its  behests  ;  so  a 
plea  to  charity  as  against  their  entertainment  or  assertion  is  en- 
tirely alien  and  irrelevant.  Charity  has  her  own  beautiful 
sphere  ;  but  she  cannot  make  or  unmake  facts  or  principles, 
cannot  mend  or  mar  an  argument,  is  no  solvent  or  solderer  of 
logic.  Charity  worthy  the  name  can  live  only  with  clear 
self-consciousness  and  ingenuous  self-utterance,  and,  till  the 
millennium,  certainly,  with  variant  opinion. 

We  glory  in  the  large-heartedness  of  Congregationalism. 
Long  may  she  wear  the  honor  of  catholicity  so  ably  vindicated 
for  her  here  this  day.  But  certainly  this  claim  to  catholicity 
and  charity  is  not  to  be  vindicated  by  the  abnegation  of  her 
own  distinctive  essence  or  self-assertion.  Our  system  surely  is 
not  so  catholic  that  it  is  nothing.  That  which  produces  such 
beautiful  charity,  certainly  has  no  right  to  carry  charity  to  the 
extent  of  suicide — to  the  destruction  of  the  distinctive  individ- 
ual life-principle  that  bears  a  fruit  so  fair.  Charity  must  not 
quench  the  fountain  of  charity.  We  may  not  reason  in  this 
wise  :  "  Congregationalism  glories  in  producing  a  spirit  which 
seeketh  not  its  own  but  another's  good.  Therefore  let  us  give 
it  up."  We  may  sacrifice  interest  and  feeling,  but  never  truth 
and  principle.  We  may  die  for  a  brother,  but  we  may  not  for 
him  suppress  a  truth  or  enact  or  utter  a  falsehood.  If,  there- 
fore, the  logic  of  our  position  and  principles  demands  of  Con- 
gregationalism a  policy  of  self-diffusion,  let  not  her  attempt  at 
duty,  due  to  herself  and  her  Lord,  be  paralized  by  that  song  of 
the  Lotus-eaters  to  which  she  has  so  long  listened  ; — charming 
her  energies  to  sleep,  by  an  abuse  of  the  beautiful  and  blessed 
name  of  charity  to  a  mere  good  feeling,  which  melts  into  itself 
all  logic  and  all  distinctive  principle  and  all  conscious  individ- 
uality. 

Let  not  these  arguments  for  the  extension  of  Congregation- 
alism be  met  by  mere  deprecation  of  denominationalism,  or  by 
mere  pleasant  words  of  the  beauty  and  blessedness  of  brotherly 
love.  If  in  the  alembic  of  charity  all  distinctive  organic  prin- 


95 

ciples  exhale,  and  nothing  is  left  but  a  catechism  and  a  kindly 
feeling,  ready  to  melt  into  any  order  that  may  be  presented,  the 
quicker  our  individual  existence  is  abandoned  the  better  ;  we 
have  no  right  to  be.  If  this  adhesion  to  our  church-order  can- 
not abide  in  the  strongest  Christian  love,  then  its  existence  at  all 
is  an  offense.  Our  cherished  principles  are  merely  prejudice — 
nothing  more  ;  when  we  feel  right  they  disappear. 

But  if  our  church  order  stands  with  us  on  the  only  ground 
on  which  it  is  entitled  to  stand  at  all — as  embracing  peculiar 
principles  and  forces  adapted  in  their  working  to  glorify  Christ 
and  save  men,  then  the  stronger  our  love  for  Christ  and  our 
brethren,  the  stronger  our  attachment  to  it  will  be. 

Self-diffusion,  Congregationalism  owes  to  her  own  principles 
and  to  her  own  life.  To  limit  a  principle  to  geographic  boun- 
daries is  to  destroy  it.  This  denies  its  universality — its  foun- 
dation in  the  nature  of  things  and  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  to 
deny  this  is  abnegation  of  its  own  existence.  Self-diffusion  is 
the  prerogative  and  duty  of  Truth.  To  deny  it  expansion  is 
to  slay  it.  As  well  hope  to  maintain  the  life  of  a  tree  while 
cutting  off  its  lateral  branches  and  roots.  To  assume  that  Con- 
gregationalism may  not  live  beyond  New  England,  is  fatal  to 
its  abiding  in  New  England  ;  and  would  necessitate  ultimately, 
as  a  logical  and  natural  consequence,  a  contest  for  the  right  of 
your  Association  to  exist  in  the  state  of  Connecticut. 

Again,  such  diffusion  is  due  to  the  West.  Whether  we  con- 
sider vastness  and  resources  of  territory  and  prospective  pop- 
ulation, or  energy  of  civilization,  never  since  Christianity  strove 
for  the  possession  of  the  Roman  empire,  or  the  barbaric  world 
in  which  that  empire  sunk,  or  since  the  Reformation  wrestled  for 
the  supremacy  of  Christendon  in  the  sixteenth  century — never 
has  so  mighty  a  game  been  presented,  or  one  staking  on  its  is- 
sue such  vast  results  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  that  now  wa- 
ged by  divisive  and  antagonistic,  social  and  religious  forces,  for 
the  rising  world  of  the  West — never  one  with  necessity  more 
urgent,  because  of  the  rapidity  of  the  step  of  Destiny.  While 
every  form  of  belief  and  misbelief,  from  Mormonism  to  the 
Papacy,  is  looking  to  that  world  as  its  quarry,  shall  the  religious 
order  of  the  founders  of  our  nation  alone  be  excluded  ?  The 
cry  that  this  order  is  unfitted  to  the  West  is,  in  regard  to 


large  portions,  at  least,  of  the  West,  sheer,  indolent,  and  hos- 
tile cant  ;  unsupported  alike  by  facts,  philosophy  or  history. 
All  these  indicate  a  peculiar  adaptedness  of  it  to  that  field. 

It  is  due,  again,  to  the  history  of  Congregationalism  in  the 
past,  that  her  children  should  carry  her  institutions  Westward  ; 
that  that  church-order,  which  has  been  the  chief  social  arch- 
itect of  your  commonwealths — than  which  the  sun  shines  on 
no  fairer  in  all  its  course — should  be  introduced  amid  the  plas- 
tic and  organic  forces  in  the  genesis  of  the  new  states  in  the 
West.  Her  past  protests  against  her  exclusion  from  the  future. 

But  if  self-diffusion  be  -a  duty,  how  shall  this  be  effected  ? 
There  are  two  methods.  One  extensively  adopted  in  the  past, 
is  the  interpenetration  of  other  denominations  with  her  own 
ideas,  by  surrendering  her  own  distinctive  organization,  and 
merging  herself  in  them.  But  whatever  we  may  think  of  the 
expediency  or  the  ingenuousness  of  this  procedure  in  the  past, 
its  time  is  gone.  The  reactionary  spasm  is  on  all  the  great  ec- 
clesiastical systems.  The  tendency  everywhere  is  to  a  more 
stringent  ecclesiasticism.  Compromises  are  repelled  and  re- 
sented. 

Another  mode,  that  of  distinctive  assertion  and  organization, 
alone  is  left  us.  We  must  advance  under  our  own  symbol. 
And  it  is  better  thus.  The  West  loves  boldness  and  frankness. 
Other  denominations  appear  with  generous  and  explicit  self-as- 
sertion. Why  not  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims? 

But  what  means  shall  we  employ  to  this  effect  ?  Shall  we  or- 
ganize a  system  of  crusade  and  aggression  ?  Shall  we  have 
but  one  idea?  Shall  we  advocate  an  impracticable,  factious 
course  in  our  emigrant  members  ?  Do  we  exalt  the  church 
above  Christ  ?  Order  above  life  ?  No,  by  no  means  !  The 
great  means  is  that  duty  which  every  system  owes  to  itself, 
self-indoctrination  ;  the  interpenetration  of  our  own  body  with 
a  more  distinctive,  appreciative,  grateful  self-consciousness. 
We  need  to  understand  better  the  principles  of  our  own  sys- 
tem ;  to  be  taught  in  our  homes  and  sanctuaries,  our  theologi- 
cal schools,  and  by  our  religious  press,  its  characteristic  excel- 
lencies ;  its  beneficent  relations,  social  and  religious,  to  truth, 
brotherhood,  freedom,  life,  and  power.  Our  great  policy  is 
self-instruction.  Our  weapons  are  ideas.  Our  mode  of  self- 


97 

diffusion  is  self-consciousness.  We  have  no  great  ecclesiastic 
arm  by  which  to  reach  into  vacant  realms  and  map  them  into 
ecclesiastical  jurisdictions,  and  frame  outlines  into  which  com- 
ing people  may  shape  themselves.  Our  reliance  is  on  ideas 
implanted  in  the  minds  of  our  sons  and  daughters.  If  there 
are  enduring  principles  in  our  system,  and  we  expect  poster- 
ity to  abide  by  them,  our  children  must  be  taught  what  they 
are  ;  not  to  estimate  them  as  the  Gospel,  or  as  paramount  to 
Christian  life  or  love  ;  but  to  hold  them  in  their  true  rank,  and 
their  proper  relations  to  these  interests,  and  cleave  to  them  for 
the  sake  of  these  interests,  and  these  only.  I  urge  this  point, 
because  this  duty  seems  to  have  been  falsely  estimated  and  stu- 
diously neglected.  In  order  to  cooperation  with  other  ecclesi- 
astical systems,  and  to  facilitate  transition  to  them,  we  seem 
purposely  to  have  ignored  the  principles  of  our  own,  till  we 
have  well-nigh  forgotten  it  has  any,  and  it  stands  with  us  as  a 
mere  matter  of  conveniency,  custom  or  prejudice. 

Now,  riot  as  against  charity,  but  for  the  sake  of  charity,  of 
peace,  and  of  sobriety  of  thought  and  feeling,  all  this  should  be 
changed.  These  can  abide  permanently  only  with  a  clear  and 
comprehensive  appreciation  of  principles,  a  distinct  discernment 
of  their  proper  limit  and  consequence,  and  their  due  relation 
and  proportion.  A  system  dimly  self-conscious,  or  held  merely 
in  prejudice,  passion,  or  custom,  is  of  necessity  exposed  to  the 
alternative  of  fanaticism  and  ultraism  on  the  one  hand,  or  of 
formalism  and  indifferentism  on  the  other — an  indifferentism 
extending  ultimately  to  other  things  than  forms  of  church  or- 
der. Its  adherents  must  defend  it  ignorantly,  or  abandon  it 
with  many  hazards  to  character,  ever  arising  from  abandonment 
of  what  is  clearly  inwrought  in  the  past  with  our  moral  and 
religious  sentiment  and  practice. 

Again,  the  want  of  indoctrination,  and  the  sending  of  your 
children  westward  with  their  church  institutions — if  borne 
with  them  at  all — labelled  "  Things  indifferent,"  breeds  a  strife 
of  tongues  and  much  uncharitableness.  If  they  cleave  to  these 
institutions  as  matters  of  principle,  they  incur  suspicion  and  re- 
port as  factious  and  impracticable  agitators,  troubling  the  church 
for  mere  forms  and  punctilios.  Their  attempt  at  practical  as- 
sertion of  their  principles,  is  resented  as  stolid  or  schismatic  ob- 
14 


98 

stinacy  ;  and  often  by  none  more  than  by  those  from  your  own 
body  who,  under  our  past  policy  of  ignoring  our  distinctive 
principles,  have  easily  fused  with  other  ecclesiastical  systems, 
and  consequently  cannot  appreciate  the  difficulties  others  may 
find  in  pursuing  the  same  course.  Hence  the  most  bitter  op- 
posers  of  our  polity  are  found  among  those  nurtured  in  its  bo- 
som, educated  by  its  charities,  and  deriving  much  of  the  energy 
and  excellence  of  character  they  possess  from  the  influence  of 
its  institutions.  I  do  not  at  all  question  their  conscientiousness. 
For  their  position  and  opinion  are  the  natural  consequences  of 
our  past  policy.  But  obviously  it  is  for  the  interests  of  peace 
that  this  policy  of  self-ignorance  should  not  continue.  A  dis- 
tinct self-consciousness  will  teach  us  when,  how,  and  to  what 
extent  we  can  cooperate  with  other  denominations,  and  thus 
save  from  the  irritation  of  false  expectations  and  misunder- 
standings and  attempts  at  impracticabilities.  There  are  pri- 
mary differences  of  organic  principles  between  us  and  other 
denominations,  which,  leaving  us  the  power  to  do  something 
in  common,  make  other  things  impracticable.  If  two  neigh- 
bors have  distinct  principles  of  architecture,  while  they  may 
beneficently  unite  in  many  things, — in  constructing  roads, 
bridges,  and  various  improvements  of  a  country, — yet  clearly  if 
they  attempt  house-building  in  common,  they  incur  the  hazard 
of  a  quarrel.  If,  for  instance,  one  wishes  a  circular  and  the 
other  a  rectangular  edifice,  they  cannot  compromise  by  attempt- 
ing to  build  a  square  circle  or  circular  square  ;  nor  will  it  relieve 
the  difficulty  to  invent  some  comprehensive  misnomer  that  may 
embrace  both  styles  under  one  term.  Nor  will  it  make  for 
peace  if  one  thinks  to  enter  into  his  neighbor's  house  and  knock 
off  the  angles  till  the  rectangular  becomes  circular,  or  crowd 
the  curve  into  angles  till  the  circle  becomes  a  square.  Such 
attempts  at  unity  breed  sharper  discord  in  the  end.  On  many 
things  they  can  beneficially  and  pleasantly  unite  ;  but  in  house- 
building only  for  temporary  shelter,  and  with  the  understand- 
ing that  each,  when  strong  enough,  may  without  impeachment 
build  his  own  edifice  and  in  accordance  with  his  own  taste. 
So  in  regard  to  different  churches  at  work  in  the  West ;  similar 
distinctness  of  self-consciousness  and  self-assertion  should  for 
the  interests  of  peace  mark  their  relations  to  each  other. 


99 

Again,  it  is  due  to  the  maintenance  of  Puritan  manhood 
among  your  children  going  westward,  that  they  be  taught 
rightly  to  appreciate  the  Religious  Order  of  their  fathers  as  the 
bequest  of  heroic  and  martyr  ages  ;  and  when  practicable,  to 
bear  them  to  the  wilderness  as  the  most  precious  part  of  their 
birthright.  But  contrarywise,  to  inculcate  that  the  emigrant 
son  of  New  England  should  initiate  life  in  the  West,  by  casting 
away  the  church  order  connected  with  what  is  most  sacred 
and  most  cherished  of  his  previous  years,  must  tend  to  set  him 
on  a  course  hazardous  often  to  virtue  and  principle. 

The  abandonment  of  institutions  is  liable  to  draw  after  it 
that  of  associated  sentiment  and  principle,  and  a  dangerous  re- 
laxation of  the  entire  moral  sentiment.  No  people  can  aban- 
don what  they  have  in  early  life  been  accustomed  to  regard  as 
sacred,  without  peril  to  character.  Unless  done  at  the  behests 
of  a  higher  reason  and  conscience,  it  enfeebles  and  demoral- 
izes. Facility  of  such  transition  has  brought  reproach  on  the 
New  England  character  ;  nor  has  the  fact  that  this  has  arisen 
in  many  cases  from  conscientious  motives,  and  often — from 
want  of  education  in  our  own  church  system — with  conscious- 
ness of  little  change  save  in  names,  prevented  that  injury  to 
character  accruing  to  the  mass,  from  the  general  habitude  thus 
induced.  This  habitude  operating  on  the  weak,  the  ambitious, 
and  the  worldly,  is  wont  to  betray  into  a  career  of  moral  de- 
generacy, ending  often  in  apostacy.  The  whole  man  ultimate- 
ly becomes  venal ;  yielding  to  the  opinions  and  usages  of  all  ma- 
jorities. With  his  inbred  love  and  faculty  of  gain,  and  his  pe- 
culiar energy  and  adroitness  of  character,  he  devotes  himself, 
mind  and  soul,  to  the  "main  chance."  The  result  is  a  type  of 
character  which  becomes  a  reproach  to  the  land  of  his  birth, 
and  a  by-word  in  the  land  of  his  adoption  ;  a  type  of  sad  no- 
toriety in  the  history  of  the  West.  For  while  we  are  grateful 
to  recognize  among  the  sons  of  New  England  specimens  of  the 
noblest  manhood,  in  all  ecclesiastical  connections,  or  in  none  ; 
the  most  effective  and  honored  agents  in  various  interests,  so- 
cial, commercial,  educational,  and  political;  still  we  are  con- 
strained to  acknowledge  among  them  types  of  degeneracy  pro- 
verbial for  opposite  qualities  and  influence ;  that — as  the  high- 
est may  sink  lowest,  as  the  sweetest  things  corrupt  to  the  most 


100 

acrid  of  acids,  as  the  most  beautiful  by  degeneracy  become 
foulest,  as  the  holiest  become  in  their  fall  the  most  deformed, 
as  the  types  of  bestial  life  approaching  nearest  the  man,  disgust 
us  the  more  from  their  carricature  of  humanity — so  amid  all 
types  of  character  wandering  up  and  down  amid  the  melange 
of  Western  life,  the  most  offensive  and  deformed  is  the  faded 
Yankee.  His  moral  manhood  is  perfectly  blanched  out  of  him. 
He  is  ready  for  any  color  to  strike  through  him.  He  slips  out 
of  his  early  life  as  the  serpent  from  his  slough.  He  has  over- 
come his  prejudices,  and  his  principles  are  all  prejudices.  His 
nativity  is  renounced.  He  has  no  longer  a  manly  individuality. 
His  personality  is  gone.  He  is  vacant  for  the  occupancy  of  all 
majorities.  He  reminds  one  of  the  process  by  which  the  mas- 
ters of  the  mesmeric  art  sometimes  break  the  will  and  subdue 
the  personality  of  their  subject.  In  this  process  a  glittering 
coin  is  held  up  before  him,  and  he  is  commanded  to  follow  it 
with  his  eye.  It  is  waved  above,  around,  below  ;  but  he  must 
keep  it  constantly  in  sight.  He  pursues  it  with  fascinated  eye 
in  all  its  motions,  now  with  upraised  gaze,  now  with  manifold 
contortions  of  body,  chasing  the  shining  charm  around  him  ; 
now  crawling  on  hands  and  knees,  now  peering  after  it  under 
chairs  and  tables.  By  this  preparation  his  independence  of 
will  and  his  personality  seem  subdued  ;  and  he  is  now  ready 
for  his  master's  uses.  He  now  feels,  sees,  touches,  tastes,  be- 
lieves as  he  is  bidden.  He  sees  black  or  white  ;  shudders  with 
cold  or  heat ;  tastes  sweet  or  bitter  ;  sings,  dances,  prays,  blas- 
phemes as  the  operator  chooses ;  catching  up  chips  for  gold, 
having  glorious  fishing  with  his  cane,  or  smelling  the  attar  of 
rose  from  the  tobacco  box.  He  is  no  longer  anybody  in  par- 
ticular, but  anybody  you  please.  He  doffs  and  dons,  at  com- 
mand, all  personages  from  General  Taylor  to  the  last  executed 
murderer. 

With  similar  process  and  result,  often  the  New  Englander 
placed  amid  the  tumult  and  scramble  of  Western  life,  and  cha- 
sing through  all  the  charm  of  the  glittering  dollar —  all  princi- 
ple ignored  and  forgotten  in  the  fascinated  gaze — seems  at 
last  divested  of  his  own  personality,  and  subdued  to  the  accep- 
tance of  all  opinions  and  characters  the  popular  voice  may 
command.  He  now  is  ready  to  ride  each  popular  wave.  He 


101 

becomes  the  most  fierce  in  championship  of  servile  usage,  or 
opinion,  and  the  most  bitter  in  denunciation  of  his  former  sen- 
timents. He  caters  to  vulgar  prejudice  in  slang  abuse  of  the 
land  of  his  birth.  From  the  demagogue  of  Kansas  frauds  and 
atrocities  to  the  hardest  of  overseers,  he  is  the  prince  of  social 
charlatans  and  mountebanks ;  emulating  the  individuality  of 
the  chameleon  or  the  sponge — a  mere  absorbent  or  reflector. 

Such  is  the  "Yankee"  fully  "faded."  His  case  may  be 
regarded  as  an  extreme  one.  But  a  feeling  which  initiates  the 
New  Englander  into  Western  life  with  a  renunciation  of  the 
ecclesiastical  institutions  of  his  fathers,  transferring  itself  to  his 
modes  of  thinking  and  acting  in  other  interests,  tends  legit- 
imately toward  such  results.  Self-respect  which  shall  protect 
his  individuality  and  innerve  his  moral  manhood,  demands  he 
should  not — unlike  every  other  race  and  sect — be  required  on 
passing  certain  lines  of  longitude  to  abandon  his  principles  of 
church-order. 

I  will  add,  in  conclusion  :  One  of  the  happiest  means  of 
arousing  a  beneficent  self-consciousness  in  our  system,  and  of 
protecting  against  tendencies  to  degeneracy,  is  oftimes  to  do 
what  you  are  doing  here  this  day,  viz.,  revitalizing  with  solemn 
celebration,  with  graphic  and  philosophic  narrative,  and  with 
grateful  and  genial  reminiscences,  the  old  metropolitan  heart. 
For  such  a  heart,  fathers  and  brethren,  we  of  the  West  still  re- 
cognize as  beating  from  your  climes  along  the  sea.  Let  it 
ever  beat  strong  and  healthful.  Infuse  into  it  the  life  of  elder 
times — the  life  of  a  love  of  Truth  and  Liberty  that  shall  grow 
only  the  more  intense  as  well  as  more  holy,  in  the  love  of 
Christ  and  the  Brotherhood.  We  shall  feel  its  pulses,  thus  in- 
vigorated/  beating  beyond  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Mississippi, 
up  the  streams  of  the  Missouri,  and  through  the  passes  of  the 
mountains  to  the  Pacific  seas. 

And  now,  brethren,  though  in  my  argument  I  have  challen- 
ged for  the  principles  which  we  in  common  hold,  that  practical 
respect  due  to  their  truth  and  value,  which  all  true  men  ever 
owe  to  their  own  convictions,  I  believe  I  am  as  far  removed  as 
any  man,  in  both  feeling  and  practice,  from  invoking  in  their 
behalf  sectarian  passion  and  strife.  Our  principles  are  alien  to 
such  agencies  ;  nor  can  our  system  be  served  of  such.  I  sim- 


102 

ply  urge  that  we  should  act  truthfully  from  our  own  posi- 
tion ;  should  fulfill  the  mission  and  occupy  the  sphere  assigned 
us  by  the  principles  we  hold,  and  by  the  Providence  of  God. 
To  that  mission  and  sphere,  as  our  allotment  in  Christ's  work, 
let  us  be  faithful ;  holding  fast  faith,  hope,  and  charity ;  and 
working  patiently  on,  whether  with  the  multitude  favoring,  or 
under  overshadowing  adverse  majorities,  as  the  Master  may  ap- 
point. And  when  another  century,  rolling  this  occasion  and 
its  actors  far  into  the  past,  shall  bring  up  a  recurrence  of  this 
day,  let  our  fidelity  to  God's  work  assigned  us  in  our  time,  pre- 
sent for  us  a  record  worthy  to  rank  beside  our  fathers,  of  whom 
we  have  heard  from  a  legitimate  son  this  day — a  record  fitting 
us  to  share  with  them,  and  the  faithful  of  every  name  or  school 
on  earth,  in  that  song  of  victory  which  from  a  redeemed  world 
shall  at  last  climb  the  hights  around  the  Throne. 


CONGREGATIONALISM  AS  IN  HARMONY  WITH  THE 
SCRIPTURAL  IDEA  OF  CHRISTIAN  UNION. 


BY  REV.  PROF.  E.  P.  BARROWS,  ANDOVER,  MASS. 

MR.  MODERATOR: 

If  the  Congregational  polity  is  in  harmony  with  the  scriptu- 
ral idea  of  Christian  union,  then  it  is  the  right  polity,  and 
will  work  well,  and  be  successful  in  accomplishing  the  ends  for 
which  the  Christian  Church  was  established ;  if  not,  it  is  a 
wrong  polity,  and  will  not  work  well.  I  propose  to  show  how 
this  system  is  permeated  throughout  with  the  true  spirit  of 
Christian  union,  as  it  is  delineated  in  the  New  Testament. 

If  we  go  back  to  the  old  Jewish  theocracy,  there  we  find  a  re- 
ligious state  :  not  a  mongrel  union  of  church  and  state,  as  two 
distinct  organizations,  after  the  modern  European  fashion  ;  but 
simply  a  state  invested  by  God's  appointment  with  all  the 
functions  of  religion ;  and  as  such,  entrusted  by  God  with  the 
sword  which  every  state  must  bear,  and  punishing  with  the 
sword  idolatry  and  witchcraft,  as  it  did  murder  and  adultery. 
But  our  Lord  Jesus  took  out  of  the  state  the  church  elements 
which  had  hitherto  lain  embosomed  in  it,  and  constituted  them 
into  a  separate  organization,  which  is  the  Christian  church.  Iti 
doing  this  he  left  behind  the  sword,  and  all  outward  force  of 
which  the  sword  is  the  representative.  He  did  not  give  the 
state  one  sword  and  the  church  another,  that  the  two  might  be 
used  against  each  other ;  he  did  not  take  the  sword  from  the 
state  and  commit  it  to  the  church,  that  she  might  have  dominion 
over  the  state  :  he  did  not  make  the  state  the  menial  of  the 
church  (after  the  Romish  notion)  to  use  the  sword  at  her  di- 
rection and  for  her  aggrandizement ;  nor  did  he  make  the  church 
the  menial  of  the  state,  to  be  used  in  subservience  to  her  secu- 
lar ends.  But  he  simply  constituted  churches  independent  of 
the  state  in  all  their  proper  functions  as  churches,  while  yet 
the  individual  members  remain  in  all  civil  matters  subject  to 
the  state.  And  these  churches  he  left  without  any  sword. 


104 

For  the  principle  of  outward  force  he  substituted  that  of  inward 
affinity  of  character.  His  plan  was,  by  the  glorious  gospel  which 
he  revealed,  and  the  glorious  power  of  the  Spirit  accompanying 
it,  to  transform  men  into  a  likeness  to  himself,  and  thus  into  a 
likeness  to  each  other.  He  first  draws  men,  one  by  one,  into 
union  with  himself,  and  in  this  way  into  an  inward  union  with 
each  other.  To  all  his  followers  he  is  the  great  central  point 
of  unity.  By  making  them  one  with  himself  and  the  Father 
he  makes  them  one  with  each  other. 

Upon  this  simple  principle  the  Apostles  proceeded  in  organ- 
izing churches.  They  went  every  where  preaching  the  gospel, 
having  full  faith  in  its  divine  power  to  accomplish  the  end  for 
which  it  was  given.  And  wherever  a  body  of  men  and  wo- 
men had  been  brought  by  it  into  inward  union  with  Christ  and 
each  other,  they  formed  them  into  a  church  under  the  few  and 
simple  rules  and  ordinances  which  Christ  had  given,  and  thus 
gave  them  also  a  visible  and  outward  unity.  Thus  arose  the 
church  in  Jerusalem,  the  church  in  Antioch,  the  church  in 
Ephesus,  the  church  in  Rome.  From  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  as  well  as  from  Christ's  authority,  these  churches  had  the 
officers  necessary  for  the  administration  of  their  proper  func- 
tions as  churches,  as  also  the  power  of  admission  to  their  fel- 
lowship and  exclusion  from  it.  This  is  the  length,  breadth, 
and  thickness  of  the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  church  poli- 
ty. A  common  faith  united  these  churches  in  a  holy  fellow- 
ship with  each  other.  They  recognized  each  other  as  co-ordi- 
nate branches  of  Christ's  body ;  as  such  they  honored  each 
other,  they  took  counsel  with  each  other,  they  helped  each 
other  in  difficulties.  But  we  do  not  find  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment any  trace  of  a  plan  on  the  part  of  our  Saviour  and  his 
Apostles  to  gather  these  churches  or  sections  of  them,  outward- 
ly and  organically,  into  one  compact  body ;  thus  subjecting 
each  individual  church  to  the  proper  authority  and  judicial 
power  of  the  whole,  and  making  it  no  longer  a  church  of  Christ 
in  the  full  sense  of  the  words,  but  only  a  part  and  parcel  of  the 
Church. 

Now  let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  the  Congregational  polity. 
Here,  to  guard  against  misapprehension,  I  premise  that  in  what 
I  have  to  say  about  ecclesiastical  organizations,  I  have  no  refer- 


105 

ence  to  any  minor  differences  that  exist  among  Congregation- 
alists.  Coming,  as  I  do,  from  another  commonwealth,  this 
would  not  be  becoming  in  me  on  the  present  occasion.  My  re- 
marks will  apply  only  to  those  organizations  that  have  proper 
judicial  power  and  binding  authority  over  the  separate  churches, 
as  just  now  explained.  I  would  simply  say  then,  sir,  that  we 
are  content  to  take  up  the  system  of  church  polity  as  Christ 
and  his  Apostles  left  it.  If  any  think  that  this  is  not  adequate 
to  the  proper  office  of  Christian  churches,  and  that  they  must, 
therefore,  go  on  to  compact  the  individual  churches  into  ex- 
tended organizations,  we  have  no  quarrel  with  them.  In  this 
matter  liberty  of  judgment  belongs  to  them,  as  well  as  to  us. 
We  only  say  that  for  their  warrant  they  must  go  to  the  same 
volume  to  which  Rome  goes — the  volume  of  human  tradition 
and  human  wisdom.  We  are  satisfied  with  the  system  as 
Christ  and  his  Apostles  left  it. 

It  may  be  objected  that  it  is  not  strong  enough.  For  what 
ends  is  it  not  strong  enough  ?  If  the  office  of  Christ's  churches 
be  to  control,  in  a  direct  way,  the  counsels  of  kings  and  cabi- 
nets, and  pull  the  wires  of  party  organizations,  doubtless  the 
Congregational  polity  is  not  strong  enough  for  this  end.  If 
their  business  be  to  legislate  Christ's  body  into  uniformity  in 
outward  details — to  prescribe,  for  example,  what  dress  the 
preacher  shall  wear  in  the  pulpit,  and  whether  the  congrega- 
tions shall  use  written  or  unwritten  prayers — doubtless  for  this 
purpose  also  it  is  not  strong  enough.  But  if.  as  we  believe, 
the  great  office  of  Christ's  churches  is  to  make  men  like  Christ; 
to  build  up  their  members  in  piety  and  fruitfulness,  and  to 
spread  every  where  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  we  think 
that  for  this  high  and  glorious  end,  our  polity  is  strong  enough. 
Its  freedom  and  elasticity  give  us  full  scope  for  every  Chris- 
tian enterprise.  Take,  for  example,  that  of  missions,  foreign 
and  domestic.  Under  the  simple  system  of  Congregationalism 
we  have  been  able  to  work  up  to  advantage  every  particle  of 
the  missionary  spirit  that  existed  in  our  churches.  Here  we 
have  been,  it  is  true,  far,  very  far  from  doing  what  we  ought  to 
have  done.  Shame  and  confusion  of  face  belong  to  us.  But 
the  fault  has  lain  not  in  our  organization,  but  in  the  fact  that 
we  have  had  so  little  of  the  spirit  of  Christ.  Had  there  been 
15 


106 

in  our  churches  a  hundred  fold  more  of  this  spirit,  and  conse- 
quently a  hundred  fold  more  of  missionary  zeal,  and  a  hun- 
dred fold  more  of  men  and  of  money  at  our  disposal,  we  should 
not  have  been  straitened  one  jot  in  our  ecclesiastical  system. 
We  could  have  worked  up  all  these  increased  means  to  advan- 
tage. And  we  are  willing,  sir,  that  our  churches  should  look 
directly  in  the  face  the  great  truth  that  the  missionary  spirit 
can  never  be  maintained  separately  from  the  solid  every  day 
piety  of  the  churches ;  and,  further,  that  this  piety  is  to  be  fed 
and  nourished  not  by  great  and  strong  ecclesiastical  systems, 
but  by  the  spiritual  instrumentalities  that  Christ  has  appointed. 
For  the  maintenance  of  sound  doctrine,  also,  we  think  that 
our  polity  has  sufficient  strength.  If  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
departs  from  the  faith,  we  can  withdraw  from  him  our  appro- 
bation for  the  exercise  of  the  functions  of  the  ministry  (in  techni- 
cal language,  we  can  depose  or  silence  him,)  and  this  is  pre- 
cisely the  kind  and  degree  of  power  that  Christ  has  entrusted 
to  us.  If  he  still  goes  on  to  preach,  he  does  it  on  his  own 
foundation,  and  the  Master  releases  us  from  all  further  respon- 
sibility in  the  matter.  Once  more,  if  a  church,  or  a  portion  of 
its  members,  departs  from  the  faith,  we  can  labor  with  it ;  can 
give  it  our  counsel  and  judgment  ;  can  provide  for  the  relief  of 
a  minority  in  it  that  adheres  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus ;  and, 
as  a  last  step,  can  withdraw  our  fellowship  from  it.  This, 
again,  is  precisely  that  moral  power  which  our  Master  has  given 
to  us.  Any  further  power  he  does  not  wish  us  to  exercise.  If 
the  church  refuses  to  listen,  and  persists  in  its  errors,  Christ 
will  attend  to  that  in  his  own  way.  It  is  true  that  in  our 
order  one  lamentable  apostacy  from  the  faith  has  taken  place. 
But  to  ascribe  this  to  the  proper  operation  of  our  polity  would 
be  a  palpable  non  sequitur.  We  have  heard  this  morning 
abundantly  of  other  causes  that  operated  to  bring  about  that 
defection.  If  we  unroll  the  scroll  of  history,  we  find  that  it 
is  precisely  that  church  which  has  the  strongest  organization 
that  is  the  most  corrupt  ;  and,  further,  that  it  is  this  very 
strength  of  hierarchical  power  that  makes  it  irreclaimable  in  its 
corruptions.  If  it  be  said  that  a  strong  organization  with  a 
sound  creed  is  the  bulwark  of  orthodoxy,  then  we  point  to  the 
church  of  England  in  the  days  when  Whitfield  and  the  Wes- 


107 

leys  arose ;  which,  with  both  these  defenses,  had  sunk  into  a 
deplorable  state  of  worldliness  and  corruption  in  both  doctrines 
and  morals ;  and  was  rescued,  so  far  as  it  was  rescued,  not  by 
these,  but  by  God's  ancient  method  of  raising  up  an  evangeli- 
cal ministry,  and  pouring  out  his  spirit  upon  the  churches. 
We  point  also  to  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches  of 
Europe,  which,  with  the  same  two  defenses,  have  lamentably 
departed  from  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  are  now  in  the 
process  of  regeneration  by  the  same  spiritual  instrumentalities. 
Sir,  I  am  not  going  to  say  a  word  in  disparagement  of  creeds. 
I  reverence  them,  and  hold  firmly  to  their  necessity.  But  let 
us  not  ascribe  to  either  creeds  or  ecclesiastical  organizations  a 
power  which  Christ  has  not  given  them.  Vain  is  the  idea  that 
one  generation,  by  any  outward  system  however  elaborate, 
can  do  up  the  work  of  orthodoxy  for  all  coming  ages.  No 
sir.  Each  generation  must  fight  the  battle  against  error  for 
itself,  with  the  scriptural  weapons  which  God  has  put  into  its 
hands.  We  consider  it  an  excellency  of  our  system  that  it 
does  not  in  any  way  conceal  or  cover  up  the  fact  that,  under 
God,  the  hope  of  sound  doctrine  is  in  holy  and  zealous 
churches  under  the  instruction  of  holy  and  zealous  teachers, 
rather  than  in  any  elaborate  ecclesiastical  machinery. 

In  the  matter  of  bearing  testimony  against  great  national 
sins,  we  think  that  the  freeness  and  elasticity  of  our  system 
gives  us  some  pre-eminent  advantages.  Take,  for  example, 
the  system  of  American  slavery,  which  overhangs  our  nation 
like  a  dark  and  portentous  cloud  big  with  awful  thunders. 
Nobly,  sir,  have  our  churches  borne  their  testimony  against 
this  great  evil.  And  it  has  been  with  less  friction  and  colli- 
sion than  can  be  the  case  under  strong  and  extended  ecclesias- 
tical organizations.  In  truth,  we  find  that  just  in  proportion  as 
an  ecclesiastical  body  spreads  itself  out  over  wide  regions,  as 
one  compact,  organic  whole,  the  difficulties  thicken  in  the 
way  of  its  finding  resolutions  on  the  subject  of  slavery  that 
suit  all  sides.  Every  resolution  that  can  be  framed  then  be- 
comes subject  to  the  evil  which  a  venerable  clergyman  of  my 
state,  somewhat  distinguished  for  his  wit,  has  ascribed  to  defi- 
nitions in  metaphysics.  He  compares  a  definition  in  meta- 
physics to  the  cover  of  a  tin  pail  that  is  a  little  grain  too  small. 


108 

You  carefully  adjust  it  on  one  side,  and  up  it  hops  on  the 
other.  Then  you  go  to  work  too  on  that  side,  but  just  as  you 
have  fixed  it  to  your  mind  up  hops  the  first  side.  In  the  same 
manner  one  may  see  a  denomination  under  one  of  these  com- 
pact and  extended  organizations  working  at  its  resolutions  on 
slavery — resolutions,  counter-resolutions  and  amendments,  with- 
ofat  either  end  or  satisfying  result — till  at  last  God,  who  loves 
his  churches  and  desires  their  peace,  sends  them  deliverance 
by  a  secession,  a  process  which  needs  only  to  be  repeated  a 
sufficient  number  of  times  to  produce  something  resembling 
our  Congregational  way  of  disposing  of  the  matter,  namely, 
that  of  leaving  each  body  to  satisfy  itself. 

That  strong  ecclesiastical  organizations  have  their  advan- 
tages it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  deny.  But  we  think  that 
these  advantages  may  be  purchased  at  too  dear  a  price.  To  us 
it  seems  that  nothing  is  more  conspicuous  on  the  page  of  his- 
tory than  the  tendency  of  such  organizations  to  excess  of 
legislation.  When  a  body  of  good  men  thus  constituted  has 
become  thoroughly  penetrated  with  the  high  idea  that  God  has 
committed  to  it  the  care  of  the  orthodoxy  and  the  order  of  all 
the  churches,  it  feels  conscience-bound  to  be  always  supervis- 
ing them.  It  has  taken  upon  itself  a  responsibility  which  the 
great  Head  of  the  church  never  committed  to  it,  and  the 
almost  certain  result  will  be  excessive  legislation.  A  hundred 
things  of  minor  importance  will  be  brought  under  the  tram- 
mels of  fixed  law,  that  might  be  much  better  left  to  the  good 
sense  of  the  individual  churches ;  and  thus  the  cause  of  spir- 
itual Christianity  will  be  burdened  instead  of  aided. 

Mr.  Moderator  :  allow  me  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  I  have 
the  honor  to  be  a  native  of  this  State,  and  the  high  honor  to 
have  been  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  by  one  of  its  as- 
sociations— the  Hartford  North.  I  see  before  me  the  reverend 
and  honored  father  in  the  Lord,  who  preached  my  ordi- 
nation sermon  on  that  occasion — "  clarum  et  venerabile 
nomen."*  I  remained  within  the  limits  of  the  State  three 
years.  Then  I  was  two  years  connected  with  a  purely  Presby- 
terian body.  After  that  I  was  fifteen  years  in  a  Presbytery  of 

*  Rev.  Joel  Ha-rop,  P.  P. 


109 

Ohio,  formed  upon  the  plan  of  Union.  Far  be  it  from  me,  sir, 
to  lisp  one  word  to  the  disparagement  of  the  beloved  and  hon- 
ored men  in  another  denomination  with  whom  I  have  been  in 
former  years  so  pleasantly  associated.  Many  of  them  it  is 
my  privilege  to  reckon  among  my  dearest  friends  in  the  min- 
istry. They  have  always  treated  me  with  Christian  kindness. 
I  simply  feel  it  my  privilege  to  say,  on  the  present  occasion, 
that  as  years  roll  on,  I  am  becoming,  as  the  result  of  observa- 
tion (and  I  may  add  experience  also)  more  strongly  attached 
to  the  Congregational  polity.  Of  that  polity  in  your  State  I 
say  :  Esto  perpetua  !  May  it  live  and  flourish  to  the  end  of 
time,  and  bring  forth,  as  hitherto,  the  fruits  of  righteousness  in 
this  ancient  commonwealth ! 


THE  PILGRIM  FATHERS. 


BY  REV.  JOHN  WADDINGTON,  LONDON,  ENGLAND. 


Rev.  John  Waddington,  of  the  Southwark  Church,  London, 
England,  then  addressed  the  Association  ;  but  unfortunately 
only  the  most  meagre  outline  of  his  speech  has  been  preserved. 
He  began  by  congratulating  the  Association  on  the  harmonious 
and  fraternal  spirit  which  had  reigned  over  their  meetings. 
He  then  took  a  review  of  the  Pilgrim  principles  which,  he  said, 
it  greatly  pleased  him  to  see  fostered  by  this  Association.  He 
hoped  that  all  the  papers  that  had  been  read  would  be  pub- 
lished. Mr  Waddington  concluded  with  the  prayer  that  the 
two  nations — America  and  England,  in  holy  fellowship,  might 
yet  together  work  a  great  work,  the  glory  of  which  would 
be  heard  in  all  lands. 


PURITAN  PIONEERING  IN  NEW  ENGLAND,  COMPAR- 
ED WITH  PURITAN  PIONEERING  AT  THE  WEST. 


BY  REV.  A.  L.  CHAPIN,  D.  D.,  PRESIDENT  OF  BELOIT  COLLEGE,  WIS. 

MR.  MODERATOR  : 

I  seem,  to-day,  to  be  living  in  two  eras.  The  historic  me- 
morials which  this  occasion  has  gathered  and  spread  before  us, 
set  me  down  in  the  past.  Sixteen  years  of  life  and  labor  in  the 
West  have  induced  the  habit  of  living  much  in  the  future. 
The  vividness  with  which  past  scenes  have  been  here  present- 
ed as  fact,  gives  intense  glow  to  the  bright  visions  sketched  by 
fancy  of  things  to  come.  You  have  all,  no  doubt,  seen  that 
beautiful  print,  just  published,  entitled  "  The  Past  and  the  Fu- 
ture." The  rapid  alternations  of  thought  and  emotion  here 
seem  to  realize  with  me,  at  once,  all  that  is  expressed  in  the 
two  significant  faces  of  the  picture — the  earnest  reflection  of  a 
soul  chastened  by  experience,  and  the  eager,  expectant  outlook 
of  one  full  of  youthful  hope  and  aspiration. 

The  speaker  who  preceded  me,  led  us  back  to  the  fountain 
of  Pilgrim  principles  and  movements  in  that  little,  persecuted, 
Puritan  church  of  London.  The  field  of  my  labors  pre- 
sents a  full,  clear  view  of  the  breadth  and  depth  which  the 
life-giving  stream  of  blessed  influences  that  proceeded  from 
that  fountain,  has  attained,  in  its  onward  flow.  lake  the  river 
of  classic  fable,  those  principles  crossed  the  ocean  and  burst 
forth,  unmixed  and  pure,  at  Plymouth  Rock.  Thence,  they 
have  traversed  the  continent.  The  great  central  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  has  been  enriched  by  their  presence,  and  precious 
are  the  fruits  already  developed  there.  Over  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains they  have  found  a  passage  ;  and  into  the  heterogeneous 
composition  of  society  on  the  Pacific  coast,  these  Puritan  prin- 
ciples are  infusing  themselves  as  saving  elements.  We  find 
them  incorporated  into  the  civil  as  well  as  the  religious  insti- 
tutions of  the  land.  And,  viewed  simply  as  principles  of  religious 
faith  and  ecclesiastical  polity,  their  presence  and  influence  may 


112 

be  traced,  not  only  in  the  churches  of  pure  Congregationalism, 
but  also,  through  the  whole  structure  and  action  of  other  kin- 
dred evangelical  denominations.  Wherever  we  find  them, 
simple,  or  in  combination,  they  appear  full  of  life  and  power, 
the  active  elements  of  true  progress  for  the  spiritual  growth  of 
individual  souls  and  the  Christian  civilization  of  human  society. 
It  is  in  their  very  nature  to  live  and  flourish.  Drawn  directly 
from  the  divine  \vord,  they  are  already  identified  with  the  ad- 
vancement of  Christ's  kingdom  ;  and  all  the  precious  promises  of 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  that  kingdom  are  to  us  sure  pledges 
of  what  shall  yet,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  accomplished 
through  the  spread  and  ascendancy  of  these  principles.  It  is 
good  to  stand  thus,  on  this  mount  of  vision  and  look  both 
ways — back  to  the  apparently  feeble  beginnings,  out  upon  the 
wide-spread  results  already  realized,  and  on  to  the  greater  and 
better  things  to  be  hereafter  developed.  We  see  much  to  be 
thankful  for — much  to  confirm  our  faith  in  God  and  his  word 
— much  to  kindle  higher  aspirations  and  to  prompt  firmer  pur- 
poses and  nobler  undertakings  and  more  fervent  prayers. 

The  historical  discourse,  to  which  it  was  our  privilege  to 
listen  this  morning,  brought  before  us  in  graphic  sketch  that 
scene  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  which  gives  chief 
interest  to  this  occasion.  Let  me  now,  for  the  few  minutes 
allotted  me,  bring  to  your  notice  some  points  of  contrast  and  re- 
semblance suggested  by  a  comparison  of  the  actors  and  the  acts 
of  that  date,  with  things  pertaining  to  the  more  recent  but 
similar  work  of  organizing  Christian  institutions  in  the  West. 

Look  again  upon  that  little  synod  at  Saybrook,  in  the  olden 
time.  Sixteen  men  of  God,  mostly  advanced  in  years  and  of 
great  dignity,  are  gathered  in  conclave.  Two,  of  ripest  age 
and  wisdom  preside  over  the  council  as  moderators,  while  the 
two  youngest  are  set  as  scribes  to  record  the  doings.  Their 
personal  appearance  and  all  their  proceedings  are  characterized 
by  the  calm  deliberation  and  stately  courtesy  which  marked 
that  former  age.  With  earnest  look  and  solemn  speech  they 
take  up  the  matter  before  them.  They  see  not  all  the  future 
growth  which  is  to  come  of  their  planting,  but  their  expecta- 
tions are  large  enough  to  convince  them  that  the  business  they 
are  undertaking  is  of  serious  moment,  as  it  concerns  the  vital 


.  113 

interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  and  the  welfare  of  com- 
ing generations.  So  they  deal  with  it  and  lay  foundations  fit 
to  bear  up,  for  centuries,  this  edifice  of  organized  Christian 
union,  most  simple  in  its  structure,  yet  full  of  enduring  beauty 
and  strength. 

Now  look  on  another  scene.  Its  date  about  a  dozen  years 
ago,  and  its  place  in  the  mining  region  of  Wisconsin.  There, 
in  one  of  the  ravines  which  break  the  country  and  make  it  as 
wild  and  rough  as  this  hilly  Connecticut,  is  assembled  a  band  of 
nearly  forty  Christian  men,  charged  as  they  believe  with  the 
duty  of  setting  up  and  maintaining  in  that  new  state,  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  gospel  on  the  Pilgrim  plan.  They  are  mostly 
young  men,  with  scarcely  a  gray  head  to  give  dignity  or  so- 
briety to  their  council.  Where  two  men  of  gravest  learning 
would  hardly  be  able  to  moderate  the  impetuous  zeal  of  young 
life  on  that  broad  arena,  there  is  set  as  the  single  official  mode- 
rator, one,  not  yet  turned  of  thirty,  who  has  had  less  than  five 
years  of  service  in  the  ministry,  to  give  him  wisdom  by  expe- 
rience. But  these  are  not  "faded  Yankees"  In  the  New 
England  homes  of  their  nativity,  (some  in  that  old  first  church 
of  Hartford,)  they  were  baptized  into  the  spirit  of  those  vene- 
rable Saybrook  fathers,  and  educated  in  their  principles  of 
Christian  faith  and  polity,  too  thoroughly  to  lose  them  by  mere 
change  of  place.  The  precious  fruits  of  those  principles, 
which  passing  years  have  developed  so  richly,  inspire  them 
with  full  confidence  in  their  soundness,  and  efficiency.  The 
swift  progress  of  our  country,  since  its  independence,  prompts 
sanguine,  almost  unlimited  hope  for  the  future  contemplated  in 
their  work.  So,  with  no  less  of  devotion  to  the  master's  ser- 
vice, and  solemn,  prayerful  regard  for  the  consequences  of  their 
action,  but  with  a  quicker  pulse,  and  bolder  faith  and  a  freer 
swing  than  the  Connecticut  fathers,  they  move  in  a  style  which 
would  have  seemed  in  the  former  age,  frightful  presumption 
and  recklessness.  Yet  shall  their  foundations  also  stand  ;  for 
in  the  true  spirit  of  the  fathers,  they  are  laying  down  the  solid 
granite  blocks,  the  same  enduring  principles  of  gospel  truth 
and  order. 

Observe  the  contrast  yet  further,  with  respect  to  some  cir- 
cumstances of  each  scene.  The  area  of  the  State  of  Connec- 

16 


114 

ticut  is  less  than  five  thousand  square  miles.  Wisconsin  em- 
braces more  than  fifty  thousand.  At  the  date  we  have  in 
mind,  the  population  here  has  grown  slowly,  through  three 
quarters  of  a  century,  to  fifteen  thousand  souls.  There,  ten 
years  have  spread  over  the  Indian  hunting  grounds  more  than 
three  hundred  thousand.  Here,  the  population  is  select  and 
homogeneous  in  respect  of  origin,  domestic  and  social  customs 
and  religious  faith  and  practice.  There,  it  is  mixed  and  di- 
verse, drawn  by  immigration  from  all  civilized  nations,  with 
different  languages  and  habits  and  representing  all  shades  of 
Christian  faith  and  unchristian  skepticism.  Here,  the  pressure 
of  tyranny,  felt  by  the  earlier  fathers  and  remembered  by  their 
sons,  binds  all  together  for  the  maintenance  of  highest  public 
freedom.  There,  freedom  enjoyed,  without  being  appreciated, 
tends  to  disintegrate  society  under  the  prevalent  maxim, 
"  Every  man  for  himself  in  greatest  individual  liberty."  Here, 
a  sterile  soil  and  the  struggles  and  hardships  incident  to  those 
times  which  tried  men's  souls,  have  developed  habits  of  care- 
ful thrift  and  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice.  There,  the  idolatry  of 
mammon  prevails,  and  genders  wild  speculation  rather  than 
patient  industry  ;  and  the  abundant  fruits  of  a  fertile  soil,  gath- 
ered in  peace,  without  care  or  fear,  encourage  profusion  for 
present  self  indulgence.  Here,  all  the  institutions  of  civilized 
society  make  progress  under  a  process  of  slow  development,  in 
which  the  depths  are  sounded  and  the  bearings  all  taken,  and 
with  narrow  sails,  the  whole  movement  is  safe  and  strong  and 
grand.  There,  every  thing  goes  with  a  rush,  and  careless  confi- 
dence at  the  helm  hardly  deigns  to  glance  at  the  charts  and 
tables  prepared  by  past  labor,  and  reckless  presumption  in  the 
engine-room  crowds  on  steam  to  the  utmost,  and  the  excite- 
ment of  the  race  makes  the  eager  voyagers  almost  heedless  of 
the  awful  collapse  or  tremendous  explosion  by  which,  ever 
and  anon,  nature  protests  against  the  violation  of  her  laws  and 
warns  them  to  "make  haste  slowly." 

Now,  for  a  moment,  suppose  those  venerable  Saybrook 
fathers  suddenly  called  forth  from  their  graves  and  sent  out 
West  to  settle  foundations  there,  in  just  the  present  condition 
of  things ;  or  conversely,  suppose  those  young  western  pioneers, 
such  as  they  are,  carried  back  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  and 


115 

entrusted  with  that  ancient  work  of  the  giants.  Surely,  it  is 
no  disparagement  to  them  of  the  former  age  and  no  affectation 
of  modesty  in  us  of  the  present,  to  say  that,  in  either  case, 
nothing  could  have  been  fitly  or  successfullydone.  See,  then, 
the  wisdom  with  which  divine  providence  ordered  the  times 
and  circumstances  and  relations  of  things.  Wisely  did  God 
choose  the  time,  and  the  place,  and  the  men,  and  guide  the 
process  for  the  slow  and  sure  unfolding  of  these  precious  Puri- 
tan principles,  and  the  form  of  organization,  through  which 
their  value  was  to  be  tested  by  first  experiments.  And,  not  in 
false  assumption,  but  in  simple  faith,  we  may  add,  wisely  has 
God  chosen  the  time  and  the  place  and  the  men  for  carrying 
out  the  process  on  a  grand  scale  by  giving  wide,  rapid  and 
varied  application  of  these  principles  to  all  kinds  of  people  for 
the  ultimate  transformation  of  the  world.  We  have  made  out 
many  points  of  strong  contrast ;  yet  the  work  is  really  one, 
only  viewed  at  different  stages,  widely  separated.  The  labor 
of  discovery  and  invention  must  precede  that  of  application. 
The  care  and  wisdom  with  which  the  fathers  defined  and  illustra- 
ted their  principles  is  the  conservative  element  in  the  enthusiastic 
swift  action  of  their  descendants,  the  inheritors  of  those  princi- 
ples ;  arid  the  very  difficulties  which  attend  and  embarass  the 
present  stage  of  the  work  in  those  newer  portions  of  the  coun- 
try present  that  as  the  proper  field  for  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
those  principles,  and  promise  to  unfold  in  due  time,  .even  in 
these  striplings,  the  true  strength  and  mettle  of  the  noble  stock 
from  which  they  sprang.  So  we  see  realized  another  feature 
of  the  picture  before  referred  to.  She,  whose  face  glows  with 
the  inspiration  of  hope  as  her  eye  dwells  on  bright  visions  of 
the  future,  sits  leaning  back  upon  her  sister,  whose  soul  wrapped 
in  meditation  on  the  past  reads  its  lessons  of  wisdom,  and  the 
lessons  of  wisdom  read  by  the  one  are  the  true  source  of  in- 
spiration to  the  other. 

Yes,  the  work  is  one.  The  contrast  respects  only  external 
circumstances.  The  Puritan  pioneers  of  the  West,  in  organiz- 
ing Christian  institutions  there,  have  to  study  the  same  problem 
which  exercised  the  minds  of  the  Connecticut  fathers.  That 
problem  may  be  propounded  in  a  threefold  form  thus : 

1.  How  shall  beliefs  be  harmonized  and  defined  in  fixed 


116 

symbols  of  evangelical  faith,  without  restricting  private  judg- 
ment, or  abating  the  sense  of  personal  accountability  for 
opinions  ? 

2.  How  shall  mutual  co-operation  and  efficient  combination 
be  secured,  without  infringing  individual  liberty   or  relieving 
personal  responsibility  ? 

3.  How  shall  the  great  agencies  for  the  work  of  education 
and  the  thorough  evangelization  of  the  country  be  established 
and  maintained,  without  centralizing  power,  stimulating  selfish 
ambition  and  chilling  the  glow  of  piety  ? 

This  is  no  place  to  enter  upon  the  discussion  of  this  prob- 
lem. Yet  it  must  and  will  surely  be  discussed.  Earnest 
minds  are  now  actively  engaged  in  its  discussion.  Nowhere 
does  the  dispute  run  higher  than  in  the  region  of  country  from 
which  I  come.  Just  now,  the  work  which  most  needs  to  be 
done  there  seems  to  be  hindered  by  the  heat  of  this  discussion 
Yet  we  may  believe  that  God  will  overrule  even  this,  in  the 
final  issue,  for  the  more  rapid  extension  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom. A  final  solution  of  the  problem  has  not  yet  been  found, 
and  will  not  be,  very  likely,  till  the  millenium. 

By  the  very  statement  of  the  question,   in  either  form,  we 
make  a  balanced  sentence.     Two  opposite  tendencies  of  the 
human  mind  are  to  be  reconciled.     A  great  and  good  end  is  to 
be  attained  and  a  danger  to  be  guarded  against.     Diverse  an- 
swers will  be  given,  according  as  he  who  attempts  the  solution 
leans,  through  the  bias  of  natural  temperament,  education  or 
existing  relations,  to  the  one  side  or  the  other.     So  we  have 
two  solutions  proposed.    Ecclesiastical  control  is  the  watchword, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  untrammeled  independency  on  the  other. 
Each  answer  bears  upon  the  problem,  but  the  trouble  is  that 
either   taken  by  itself  provides  for  only  one  side  of  the  case. 
Therefore,  either  pushed  to  its  extreme  is  false  and  mischiev- 
ous.    The  one,  seeking  efficiency  by  centralization  tends  to- 
wards  the  despotism  of  the   Papacy.     The  other,  guarding 
liberty  by  standing  aloof  from  necessary  bonds  and  alliances, 
tends  towards  latitudinarianism  in  matters  of  faith  and  sepa- 
rate, discordant  and  therefore  inefficient  action.     We  approxi- 
mate a  true  solution  only  as  we  expand  our  views  to  embrace  the 
whole  end  to  be  attained.     In  other  words  we  must  free  our- 


117 

selves  from  intolerance  and  exclusiveness  and  with  genuine 
catholicity  of  spirit,  contemplate  with  single  eye  the  wide- 
sweeping  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  We  need  not 
believe  that  all  wisdom  died  with  the  fathers  of  Connecticut. 
Yet  who  can  fail,  considering  what  they  did  in  their  day  and 
their  circumstances,  to  wonder  and  rejoice  that  they  were  ena- 
bled with  such  large  comprehension  and  clear  foresight,  to 
provide  so  well  for  the  interests  involved  in  both  parts  of  the 
great  question.  I  will  not  say  that  they  reached  a  perfect 
result,  or  that  the  form  of  organization  adopted  by  them  is  to 
be  exactly  imitated  in  all  circumstances.  But  I  do  believe  that 
the  happiest  result  will  be  reached  in  all  cases,  in  proportion 
as  the  question  is  met  in  the  large,  free  spirit  which  animated 
them.  In  this  respect  they  present  a  worthy  example. 

As  a  last  remark,  I  offer  a  thought  suggested  by  some  of  the 
historical  facts  presented  this  morning.  It  appeared  that  the 
times  of  greatest  agitation  and  hottest  dispute  were  times  of 
great  spiritual  declension  in  the  churches.  The  two  things 
are  reciprocally  cause  and  effect.  Our  grand  safeguard  there- 
fore in  all  this  work  of  building  up  the  temple  of  God,  which 
is  the  church  of  Christ,  is  in  the  pervading  presence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  keeping  each  soul  true  in  supreme  devotion  to 
the  Head,  and  therefore  humble,  and  because  humble  and  obe- 
dient, wise  to  carry  out  his  blessed  plan.  "  Not  by  might  nor 
by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  Let  us  all  take 
the  lesson.  May  the  Spirit  of  God  ever  dwell  in  these  old 
churches  of  Connecticut  to  make  them  live  and  flourish,  for 
centuries  to  come,  on  the  foundations  so  wisely  laid,  centuries 
ago  !  May  the  same  Spirit  animate  and  guide  the  sons  of  Con- 
necticut and  those  associated  with  them  in  the  present  work  of 
laying  foundations  for  the  building  of  God  in  the  newer  states! 
May  the  one  Spirit  thus  make  the  work  one  and  advance  all 
parts  in  harmony  towards  a  blessed  consummation  for  the  good 
of  men  and  the  glory  of  God ! 


THE  SAFETY  AND  WISDOM  OF  COMPLETE  RELI- 
GIOUS LIBERTY,  AS  ILLUSTRATED  IN  CON- 
NECTICUT DURING  THE  LAST  ONE 
HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  YEARS. 

BY  REV  S.  W.  S.  BUTTON,  D.  D.,  NEW  HAVEN,  (THE  MODERATOR.) 

MR.  SCRIBE  : 

I  propose  to  speak  briefly  of  the  illustration,  which  we  have 
in  the  history  of  the  past  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  in  Con- 
necticut, of  the  safety  and  wisdom  of  complete  religious  lib- 
erty, and  of  the  peril  and  folly  of  restricting  it :  or  the  safety 
and  wisdom  of  leaving  the  reception  and  support  of  religion 
wholly  to  the  voluntary  principle,  without  any  legal  or  civil 
compulsion. 

This  seems  very  plain  to  us.  But  it  was  not  so  to  our  fa- 
thers. From  the  beginning  of  the  colonies  down  to  1818,  in 
Connecticut,  and  to  a  later  period  in  Massachusetts,  religious 
liberty  was  more  or  less  restricted.  It  was  not  till  then  com- 
plete. It  advanced  to  completeness  by  slow  steps,  and  resisted 
steps  as  it  regards  Congregationalists — steps  directly  against  the 
protests,  the  prayers  and  the  efforts  of  our  fathers.  In  this  we 
see  that  God  in  his  providence  is  wiser  than  the  wisest  of  men. 

Let  us  look  at  some  of  these  steps  or  stages  in  the  progress 
of  religious  liberty  here. 

At  the  beginning,  in  these  Puritan  colonies,  all  were  com- 
pelled to  support  the  Congregational  order,  which  was  the 
order  of  religion  established  by  the  civil  government.  And 
not  only  that,  none  had  any  liberty  to  worship  publicly  in 
any  other  way.  Moreover,  in  those  colonies,  Connecticut 
excepted,  men  could  not  vote  or  hold  any  civil  office,  un- 
less they  were  members  of  some  Congregational  church.  So 
close  at  first  was  the  union  of  Church  and  State.  The  rigor 
of  this  rule  began  to  be  abated  in  1708,  when  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  passed  the  Act  of  Toleration,  as  it  was 
called,  by  which  all  persons,  who  soberly  dissented  from  the 
worship  and  ministry  by  law  established,  (i.  e.  the  Congrega- 


119 

tional,)  were  permitted  to  enjoy  the  same  liberty  of  conscience 
with  the  Dissenters  in  England,  under  the  act  of  William  and 
Mary  ;  i.  e.  they  were  exempt  from  punishment  for  not  con- 
forming to  the  established  religion,  but  not  exempt  from  taxa- 
tion for  its  support.  By  appearing  before  the  County  Court, 
and  there  in  legal  iorms  declaring  their  a  sober  dissent,"  they 
could  obtain  permission  to  have  public  worship  in  their  own 
way,  but  were  still  obliged  to  pay  for  the  support  of  the  Con- 
gregational churches  in  the  places  of  their  residence.  There 
was  a  further  relaxation,  as  it  regards  Episcopalians,  in  1727, 
and  as  it  regards  Quakers  and  Baptists  in  1729.  They  were 
then  exempted  from  taxation  by  the  established  churches,  pro- 
vided they  attended  on  the  worship  of  God  in  a  tolerated  soci- 
ety of  their  own  denomination.  But  Congregationalists  and 
Presbyterians  had  no  such  exemption.  If,  for  any  reason,  any 
of  them  wished  to  secede  from  churches  or  societies,  and  wor- 
ship by  themselves,  they  were  still  obliged  to  pay  their  taxes 
for  the  support  of  the  churches  from  which  they  had  seceded. 
And  even  this  small  degree  of  liberty  for  seceding  Congrega- 
tionalists and  Presbyterians,  was  restricted  by  special  acts  of 
the  Legislature,  in  the  time  of  the  "  Great  Awakening  "  of 
1740,  through  the  influence  of  the  "  Old  Lights,"  or  opposers 
of  that  Awakening.  The  Legislature,  to  suppress  enthusiasm, 
as  was  alleged,  repealed,  in  1743,  the  Act  of  Toleration,  so 
that  thereafter  none  could  secede  from  the  established  ecclesi- 
astical societies,  (Congregational,)  and  worship  by  themselves, 
without  punishment,  unless  they  should  ask  and  obtain  special 
permission  from  the  Legislature  ;  which  special  permission,  it 
was  plainly  intimated,  Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians 
should  not  have.  And  in  the  previous  year,  1742,  for  the  same 
purpose  of  suppressing  enthusiasm,  i.  e.  suppressing  the  "  New 
Lights,"  a  law  was  passed  to  this  effect,  that  if  any  ordained 
or  licensed  preacher  should  preach,  or  exhort,  within  the  limits 
of  any  parish,  without  the  consent  of  the  pastor  and  majority 
of  that  parish,  if  he  was  from  without  the  colony,  he  should 
be  arrested  and  carried  out  of  the  colony  as  a  vagrant.  If  he 
was  from  within  the  colony,  he  should  be  deprived  of  his  sal- 
ary, and  that  without  any  trial,  simply  upon  information, 
whether  true  or  false,  lodged  by  any  person,  with  the  clerk  of 


120 

his  parish.  Also,  if  any  person  not  licensed  to  preach,  should 
exhort,  within  the  limits  of  any  parish,  without  the  consent  of 
the  pastor  and  majority  of  that  parish,  he  should  for  every  such 
offense  be  bound  to  keep  the  peace,  by  any  assistant  or  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  in  the  penal  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds. 

The  operation  of  these  severe  restrictions  on  religious  liberty 
is  so  well  illustrated  in  the  history  of  the  church  of  which  I 
am  pastor,  the  North  Church  in  New  Haven,  that  I  will  make 
a  few  references  to  that  history. 

That  church  was  organized  in  1742,  by  a  Council  consisting 
of  five  ministers,  one  of  whom  was  Dr.  Bellamy,  and  was  com- 
posed of  members  who  favored  the  revival  of  religion  which 
was  then  in  progress,  and  seceded  from  the  First  Church  in 
New  Haven  on  account  of  the  opposition  of  the  pastor  of  that 
church,  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes,  and  of  the  majority  of  the  church  to 
that  revival,  and  to  its  chief  promoter,  the  celebrated  Whitfield. 
Yet  they  could  gain  no  permission  to  form  an  ecclesiastical 
society,  nor  to  hold  public  worship.  They  did  have  public 
worship  however,  but  under  much  oppression.  For  eighteen 
years  they  were  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  church  which 
they  had  left,  besides  bearing  a  heavy  voluntary  burden  for 
the  support  of  their  own  church.  Then,  for  a  large  part  of 
that  eighteen  years  they  could  have  no  regular  minister,  at  least 
not  without  having  him  molested,  fined  and  punished  by  the 
officers  of  the  law.  For  attempting  to  preach  to  that  church, 
Rev.  Samuel  Finley — afterward  President  of  Princeton  College, 
whose  name  is  familiar  to  all  who  have  read  Dr.  John  Mason's 
eloquent  Contrast  between  the  Death  of  David  Hume  and 
that  of  Samuel  Finley — was  arrested  and  carried  out  of 
the  colony  as  a  vagrant.  He  had  previously  been  treated  in. 
the  same  way  for  preaching  to  a  church  which  seceded,  or 
"  separated,"  as  the  term  was,  for  the  same  purpose,  in  Mil- 
ford.  The  tradition  is,  that  Finley  having  been  arrested  on 
Saturday,  in  anticipation  of  his  preaching,  was  kept  in  custody 
by  the  officer  of  justice  on  the  Sabbath,  and  by  him  was  taken 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes's  church,  and  made  to  sit  in  the  aisle — prob- 
ably to  expose  him  as  an  offender  against  the  laws,  and  to  give 
him  the  privilege  of  hearing  preaching  and  praying  specially 
designed  for  his  benefit. 


121 

Great  was  the  hostility  against  the  "  Separates"  of  that  day, 
who,  according  to  our  present  views  of  religious  liberty,  should 
have  been  freely  allowed  to  secede  and  form  distinct  churches  ; 
and  whose  motive  was,  to  say  the  least,  honorable  to  their 
Christian  zeal  and  devotion.  And  their  oppression  was  often 
severe,  as  is  seen  by  the  laws  enacted  and  enforced  against 
them.  One  or  two  illustrations  of  this  hostile  feeling  occur  to 
me.  The  father  of  one  of  the  deacons  of  the  new  (the  Sepa- 
rate) church  in  New  Haven  was  deacon  of  the  First  Church. 
The  child  of  the  son  died.  The  father,  in  a  written  note,  de- 
clined to  attend  the  funeral,  because  the  son  belonged  to  the 
"New  Light"  church  !  After  the  frame  of  the  "New  Light" 
meeting  house  was  prepared  to  be  raised,  all  the  long  pieces  of 
timber  were  cut  in  two  in  the  night.  The  "  New  Lights  "  re- 
placed them  by  others,  over  which  they  kept  guard.  The  late 
Chief  Justice  Daggett  used  to  illustrate  this  state  of  feeling  by 
an  anecdote,  which  I  will  relate.  He  said  that  his  father,  who 
resided  in  the  town  of  Attleboro,  Mass.,  attended  the  Congre- 
gational church  ;  but  being  a  Baptist  in  sentiment,  he  had  some 
sympathy  with  the  "  Separates,"  many  of  whom  were,  or  be- 
came, Baptists.  Rev.  Mr.  Thacher,  a  minister  of  the  vicinity, 
preaching  on  a  certain  Sabbath  in  Attleboro,  in  giving  a  sum- 
mary catalogue  of  those  who  would  be  excluded  from  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  ended  off  with  the  expression,  "and  all 
Separates.1'  Mr.  Daggett,  meeting  him  during  the  week,  said 
to  him  :  "  Mr.  Thacher,  I  did  not  like  that  passage  in  your 
sermon,  last  Sabbath,  in  which  you  classed  the  Separates 
with  thieves  and  liars,  and  others  who  would  be  excluded  from 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  "Oh,"  said  he,  "  Brother  Daggett, 
I  meant  those  who  are  separate  from  all  righteousness!" 
"  Ah  !  Was  that  your  meaning  ?  Then,  I  think  that  when  you 
preach  here  again,  you  had  better  explain  it :  for  you  was  un- 
derstood to  have  a  very  different  meaning."  Mr.  Thacher's 
reply  may  as  well  be  added  :  for,  though  it  does  not  further 
illustrate  the  point  in  hand,  it  does  illustrate  something  else. 
"Brother  Daggett,  I  am  well  aware  that  I  am  very  liable  to 
err.  But,  Brother  Daggett,  I  have  710  knack  at  confessing  /" 
There  are  many  who  have  "  no  knack  at  confessing,"  especially 

men  of  strong  will. 

17 


122 

The  Saybrook  Platform,  or  the  consociational  system,  was 
at  that  time  made  an  instrument  of  restricting  religious  liberty. 
The  Presbyterian  or  strict  construction  of  its  articles  prevailed 
at  that  period,  which  made  the  consociation  a  judicial  and  au- 
thoritative tribunal.  And  this  power  was  used  to  prevent  the 
formation  of  "  New  Light "  churches ;  the  ruling  party  in- 
sisting that  no  new  churches  should  be  formed,  unless  they 
would  agree  to  be  bound  by  the  Saybrook  Platform,  i.  e.  be 
consociated,  and  so  far  forth  give  up  their  Congregational 
liberty. 

In  the  year  1784,  another  of  the  steps  toward  complete  reli- 
gious liberty,  which  I  am  noticing,  was  taken.  The  legal  es- 
tablishment of  the  Saybrook  Platform  was  abrogated,  leaving  all 
free  to  worship  with  whatever  denomination  they  preferred. 
All,  however,  were  still  taxed  for  the  support  of  some  church, 
the  church  of  their  choice.  In  the  year  1818,  when  the  new 
constitution  was  formed,  this  last  restriction  was  removed ;  and 
religion  was  left  entirely  to  voluntary  support.  A  plan  which 
the  experience  of  forty  years  has  proved  to  be  by  far  the  best. 
And  yet  our  fathers  feared  it,  and  protested,  prayed  and  strove 
against  it.  They  dared  not  trust  complete  religious  liberty. 
They  feared  to  leave  religion  to  the  free  reception  and  support 
of  the  people.  They  thought  that  it  would  not  do  not  to  com- 
pel men  to  support  that  which  they  disbelieve.  I  have  lately 
read  over  again  a  sermon,  preached  by  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher, 
during  the  period  when  the  question  of  the  new  constitution 
was  pending,  in  which  with  all  his  eloquence  he  sets  forth  the 
plan  of  leaving  religion  to  voluntary  support,  as  one  which 
would  open  the  floodgates  of  ruin  on  the  state. 

I  need  spend  only  a  few  moments,  in  conclusion,  in  advert- 
ing to  the  evils  of  these  restrictions  on  religious  liberty,  as 
they  have  appeared  in  our  history. 

1.  The  strict  union  of  church  and  state  which  existed  at  the 
first  was  very  disastrous.  As  only  members  of  the  established 
churches  were  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office,  unrenewed  men 
were  tempted  to  become  members  of  the  church  ;  membership 
was  construed,  also,  to  include  all  baptized  persons  ;  and  then,  in 
order  that  children  of  parents  not  members  in  full  standing,  not 
participants  of  the  Lord's  supper,  might  be  baptized,  and  so  be 


123 

called  members  so  far  forth  as  to  vote  and  hold  civil  office,  the 
pernicious  "Half-way-covenant  "  was  ifi vented  and  practised. 
Under  such  influences,  the  vital  church  was  merged  to  a  la- 
mentable extent  in  a  mass  of  unconverted  members.  Uncon- 
verted men,  to  some  extent,  were  in  the  ministry.  The  dis- 
tinction between  those  renewed  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the 
unrenewed,  between  the  real  church  and  the  world,  was  in  a 
great  measure  obliterated ;  and  the  standard,  both  of  religion 
and  morals,  became  very  low, — so  low  that  it  seemed  that  nothing 
but  the  extraordinary  grace  of  God  in  the  great  Awakening  of 
1740  could  have  saved  the  churches  from  apostasy. 

2.  These  restrictions,  or  some  of  them,  tended  to   decrease 
Congregationalism  and  to  increase  other  sects.     At  one  period, 
as  I   have   shown,  if  Congregationalists,  dissatisfied   with  the 
administration  of  the  church  to  which  they  belonged,  seceded 
and  formed  another  Congregational  church,  they  were  doubly 
taxed — i.  e.  for  the  new  church  and  the  old  one  also — by  law 
for  the  old  one,   and  voluntarily  for  the  new  one  ;  whereas,  if 
they  formed  a  church  of  another  denomination,  they  were  re- 
leased from  taxation  to  the  church  which  they  had  left.     This, 
especially  in  the  time  of  the  great  Awakening,  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  many  Baptist  churches.     The  larger  part   of  the 
Separate  churches  became  Baptist,  not  because  they  preferred 
distinctive  Baptist   principles,  but  because  the  Baptists    were 
Congregational  in  government,  and  for  the   most  part  in  doc- 
trine, and  they,  by  calling  themselves  Baptist,  could  escape  the 
oppression  of  double  taxation.     Indeed,  the  formation  of  those 
Separate  churches,  and  the  earlier  growth  of  the  Baptist  denom- 
ination  in  this  state,  was  little  more  than  a  practical    protest 
against  the  prevalent  violation  of  religious  liberty. 

3.  That  state  of  the  laws  which  obliged  all  to  pay  for  the 
support  of  some  church,  but  allowed  them  tochoose  which,  was 
found   to    favor   the    laxer    kinds    of    religion.     Infidels   and 
Nothingarians,  compelled  to  support  some  kind  of  religion  and 
allowed  to  choose  which,  of  course  chose  the  least  strict,  both 
as  to  orthodoxy  and  practice.     They  practised  on  the  principle 
of  an    infidel,  who    attended  Matthew  Hale  Smith's  church, 
when  he  was  a  Universalist  minister  in  Hartford.     Said  he  to 
Mr.  Smith  :  "  I  go  to  hear  you  preach.     But  I  don't  believe  your 


124 

doctrine.  I  go  to  hear  you,  because  your  doctrine  is  nearest  to 
nothing  of  any  that  I  know  of!"  This  result,  which  I  have 
described,  was  what  might  have  been  expected  from  such  a 
state  of  the  laws.  And  accordingly  it  has  been  found  in  Mass- 
achusetts especially,  that  the  repeal  of  the  law  for  the  compul- 
sory support  of  religion  has  been  a  very  severe  blow  to  Unita- 
rianism,  so  prevalent  there,  and  to  all  the  laxer  forms  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  found  since  religion  has  been 
put  upon  the  voluntary  principle  and  the  free  choice  of  men  for 
support,  that  men  generally  have  more  interest  in  it,  and  are 
more  active  to  extend  it.  And  voluntary  enterprise  and  gene- 
rosity in  the  work  of  Home  Missions  have  done  far  more  to 
build  up  waste  places,  and  to  prevent  places  from  becoming 
waste,  than  was  ever  done,  or  could  be  done,  by  force  of  law. 

But  my  time  is  up,  and  I  must  conclude.  Let  us  lay  to 
heart  the  great  lesson  of  this  subject,  and  have  entire  faith, 
under  God,  in  full  religious  freedom. 


CONSOCIATED  CONGREGATIONALISM. 
BY  REV.  JOSEPH  ELDRIDGE,  D.  D.,  NORFOLK. 

MR.  MODERATOR  : 

Congregationalism,  Consociated  Congregationalism  is  my 
theme. 

I  love  Congregationalism  of  every  description,  but  acknowl- 
edge a  preference  for  Consociated  Congregationalism  ;  that  of 
Connecticut,  as  distinguished  from  that  of  Massachusetts.  My 
preference  is  not  a  hereditary  feeling  ;  for  I  was  born  and  re- 
ceived my  early  training  in  the  Old  Bay  State.  It  is  the  result 
of  my  observation  of  its  working  in  Litchfield  County  during 
a  period  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  Congre- 
gational churches  of  that  county  have  been  Consociated  from 
the  beginning.  During  nearly  the  entire  period  of  their  history, 
they  have  settled  and  dismissed  their  pastors,  and  transacted  all 
that  ecclesiastical  business,  that  is  elsewhere  performed  by 
Councils,  through  the  agency  of  the  Consociation.  In  proof 
of  the  salutary  operation  of  the  system,  I  appeal  with  confi- 
dence to  the  general  character  of  their  pastors,  past  and  pre- 
sent,— and  to  the  condition  of  the  churches. 

Consociation  has  supplied  those  churches  with  a  succession 
of  ministers,  competent  and  orthodox,  faithful  and  devoted. 
Among  the  fathers,  were  Halleck,  Griffin,  Hooker,  Bellamy, 
Backus,  and  others.  There  were  giants  in  those  days.  Speak- 
ing of  my  immediate  predecessors  and  cotemporaries,  I  can 
testify  to  their  soundness  in  character  and  doctrine,  to  their 
fidelity  and  usefulness. 

The  churches  in  that  connection  have  been  a  sort  of  seed 
plot  for  the  West ;  and  subjected  to  a  constant  drain  from  emi- 
gration. Yet  they  have  lived  and  flourished.  They  have 
been  the  lights  in  their  own  region,  and  have  done  their  part  in 
originating  and  sustaining  the  Christian  and  benevolent  enter- 
prises of  modern  times,  both  domestic  and  foreign.  The  best 
evidence  that  a  machine  is  adapted  to  any  end — is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  it  successfully  accomplishes  the  end  in  question. 


126 

Consociated  Congregationalism,  thus  judged  by  its  fruits, 
challenges  our  approval  ;  but  Mr.  Moderator,  I  think  the  ra- 
tionale of  its  successful  working  may  be  explained. 

Consociation  is  a  mixed  body — in  which  the  clerical  and  lay 
elements  exist  in  equal  proportions.  It  is  a  permanent  body 
on  the  same  ground.  Its  discretion  is  limited — its  powers  be- 
ing defined,  and  its  duties  specified.  Its  mixed  character,  being 
composed  equally  of  laymen  and  clergymen,  is  at  once  a  check 
and  protection  to  both  parties.  Neither  can  easily  infringe 
upon  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  other.  Then  the  specula- 
tive wisdom  of  the  clergy  and  the  practical  experience  of  the 
laymen  both  come  into  useful  play  in  all  matters  of  interest 
that  come  before  the  Consociation. 

The  permanence  of  the  Consociation  on  the  same  ground 
where  its  action  takes  effect  is  a  very  important  circumstance. 
An  independent  Council  may  be  packed  in  reference  to  the  ob- 
ject for  which  it  is  called  ;  a  Consociation  cannot  be.  A  Coun- 
cil has  no  permanent  existence,  and  consequently  no  character 
to  maintain.  Its  decision  having  been  given,  its  members  dis- 
perse in  every  direction  never  to  meet  more.  It  is  soon  out  of 
sight,  and  out  of  hearing  of  any  trouble  that  its  proceedings 
may  create. 

Consociation,  on  the  contrary,  has  a  permanent  existence  ;  it 
has  a  character  to  sustain  for  intelligence,  impartiality  and  con- 
sistency. The  members  of  it  are  to  remain  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  place  where  the  action  takes  effect ;  they  are  to  see  and 
hear  the  results  of  that  action,  and  to  be  held  in  a  degree  re- 
sponsible for  them.  Still  further,  the  pastors  and  representa- 
tives of  the  churches  know  that  their  decision  in  each  case  is 
to  be  put  on  record — that  it  will  be  a  rod  in  pickle,  a  precedent 
to  be  applied  in  their  own  case,  should  occasion  arise.  Who 
that  knows  anything  of  human  nature  can  doubt  that  these 
circumstances  will  tend  to  produce  caution,  deliberation,  and 
fairness  ?  Then  Consociation  is  not  left  to  unlimited  discre- 
tion ;  not  merely  to  the  common  law  of  usage  and  undefined 
customs.  Its  powers  are  defined,  its  duties  are  specified,  and  it 
acts  under  a  constitution  that  has  been  framed  and  accepted  by 
the  churches  themselves.  The  moral  authority  of  their  decis- 
ions is  thereby  greatly  enhanced. 


127 

I  have  found  Consociation  also  eminently  conducive  to  mu- 
tual acquaintance  and  sympathy  among  the  pastors  and  churches 
embraced  in  its  limits.  They  are  often  summoned  together — 
they  become  acquainted  with  each  others  state,  condition,  in- 
terests, duties,  and  the  best  means  to  be  employed  to  promote 
the  great  cause  of  the  Lord.  These  matters  are  discussed, 
good  feeling  is  elicited,  and  judicious  plans  are  struck  out  and 
adopted — and  executed.  We  recall  the  good  men  that  have 
preceded  us,  we  anticipate  those  who  are  to  come  after  us,  we 
are  stimulated  by  our  recollections  of  the  past,  we  are  an- 
imated with  hope  for  the  future.  (Here  the  Moderator  of 
the  Association  said — Your  time  is  up!)  We  A,  then,  in  my 
judgment,  Consociation  is  a  precious  legacy  of  our  ancestors, 
and  I  pray  God,  it  may  be  transmitted  to  the  latest  generation 
of  our  posterity. 


THU  LESSONS  OP  OUR  DAY  AS  SUGGESTED  BY 
THE  LEADING  AIM  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

BY  REV.  SAMUEL  WOLCOTT,  PROVIDENCE,  R.  I. 

MR.  MODERATOR: 

I  am  present  at  this  festival  as  a  son  of  Connecticut — a  rela- 
tionship which  has  always  seemed  to  me  so  near  akin  to  the 
family  connection,  that  the  two  have  been  scarcely  separate 
in  my  heart.  As  such,  I  feel  an  interest  in  her  churches  and 
in  the  history  of  Congregationalism  within  her  borders,  not 
merely  as  embraced  in  the  graphic  delineation  which  a  mas- 
ter's hand  has  sketched  to-day — the  rise  and  the  decline 
of  that  Consociationism,  which  is  such  a  favorite  with  the 
respected  speaker,  who  has  just  preceded  me ;  but  also  as 
embodied  in  the  forms  of  that  earlier  and  broader  Congrega- 
tionalism, which  came  to  Connecticut  with  her  first  churches, 
and  will  be  found,  I  trust,  abiding  with  her  last.  Thus  com- 
prehensively viewed,  what  collection  of  churches  in  our  land 
comprises,  in  its  records,  a  more  complete  exhibition  of  the  ele- 
ments which,  through  a  protracted  and  eventful  period,  have 
entered  into  the  very  constitution  of  a  civil  society,  and  made 
the  history  of  a  community  memorable,  than  this  ?  What 
were  the  history  of  Connecticut,  without  this  history,  and 
God's  hand  therein  ?  The  heroic  days  of  this  Commonwealth, 
the  days  when  her  direct  influence  in  the  national  confederacy, 
of  which  she  was  one  of  the  smallest  members,  was  almost  un- 
surpassed ;  when  her  Trumbulls,  and  Gris wolds,  and  Ells- 
worths, and  Shermans  were  her  representative  statesmen,  and 
Washington  leaned  upon  her  counsels  in  the  cabinet,  and  her 
armies  in  the  field — those  days,  with  all  their  fruitful  achieve- 
ments, had  their  root  and  growth  and  fair  development  in  the 
faith  and  polity  of  her  churches,  here  represented.  Through 
the  combined  instrumentality  of  the  school,  the  college,  and 
the  sanctuary,  were  molded  by  these  churches  the  characters 
that  adorn  her  historic  eras. 


129 

The  lesson  of  the  hour  is  obvious  to  us  all,  and  the  simple 
narrative  which  has  been  rehearsed  in  our  ears  is  its  best  en- 
forcement. It  will  be  conceded  by  all  who  are  familiar  with  our 
annals,  that  for  the  agencies  which  have  advanced  and  eleva- 
ted us  as  a  people,  and  for  the  results  accomplished  which  con- 
stitute our  distinctive  crown  and  glory,  we  are  mainly  indebt- 
ed, under  God,  to  the  views  and  aims  which  brought  our  fore- 
fathers to  this  land — to  the  tendencies  impressed  upon  our  ear- 
ly life  and  forming  character,  upon  all  our  sentiments  and 
habits,  by  their  cherished  principles.  And  this  admission  in- 
volves another,  viz  :  that  in  a  faithful  adherence  to  the  course 
.on  which  the  favor  of  heaven  has  so  manifestly  rested,  and 
which  has  been  fraught  with  such  signal  benefits  in  the  past, 
we  shall  find  our  continued  safety  and  permanent  prosperity. 

This  gathering,  then,  is  designed  to  remind  us  of  the  lead- 
ing object  which  governed  the  men  who  sought  their  homes  in 
this  land  and  planted  these  churches  and  gave  tone  to  our  his- 
tory, and  to  bring  us  into  fresh  sympathy  with  the  spirit  which 
animated  them.  Nor  can  we  be  too  often  reminded  of  the 
truth,  familiar  as  it  may  be,  that  the  ships  which  brought  over 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  did  not  convey  to  the  savage  coast  of  New 
England  companies  of  trading  adventurers,  or  individual  emi- 
grants, seeking  each  a  separate  and  selfish  end.  They  brought 
the  household,  with  all  its  dependent  members,  the  aged  and 
the  young,  and  with  all  its  dear  and  sacred  ties.  They 
brought  the  civil  government  in  an  organic  form,  with  its  writ- 
ten constitution  and  its  appointed  officers.  They  brought  the 
Christian  church,  with  its  simple,  scriptural  polity,  its  covenant, 
its  sacraments,  and  its  pastor  and  teacher.  The  vessels  which 
bore  to  their  several  destinations  the  early  colonists  of  New 
England,  came  freighted — with  what  ?  With  social,  civil,  and 
religious  institutions. 

In  the  quiet  and  venerable  churchyard  of  the  ancient  town 
of  Windsor,  rest  the  mortal  remains  of  that  company  of  Pil- 
grims, already  described,  who  traversed  the  unbroken  forests  of 
Massachusetts,  and  accomplished,  with  untold  hardships,  in  a 
weary  fortnight,  a  journey  which  may  now  be  made  with  ease 
in  four  or  five  hours.  Some  of  them  had  left  in  the  Old 
World  homes  of  comfort  and  affluence,  but  they  cheerfully 
18 


130 

shared  the  toils,  privations,  and  perils  of  the  way  ;  and  on 
reaching  the  banks  of  the  River,  they  gratefully  welcomed  the 
common  termination  of  their  earthly  journeyings. 

"  They  thought  on  England's  fields  of  green, 
Nor  wept  that  Ocean  rolled  between, 
But  praised  the  Lord  their  guide,  whose  hand 
Had  brought  them  to  their  promised  land." 

Along  those  smiling  meadows  they  reared  their  humble 
.dwellings ;  on  that  swelling  upland  they  built  their  sanctuary; 
in  that  lone  cemetery  they  made  their  graves.  Beneath  a 
monument,  the  tablet  of  which  has  been  piously  renewed, 
sleeps  the  dust  of  the  learned  and  sainted  Warham,  their  be- 
loved and  venerated  Pastor.  On  another  monument  which 
has  happily  escaped  the  ravages  of  time,  is  inscribed  the  name 
of  a  worthy  fellow-pilgrim,*  one  of  the  first  Magistrates  of  the 
Colony.  Around  these  are  scattered  the  rude  memorials  of 
others  of  the  company,  men  and  women,  who  left  the  shores 
of  England  together  in  the  spring  of  1630.  Here,  undisturb- 
ed by  the  noise  of  the  loaded  trains  which  thunder  daily  along 
the  iron  track  by  their  side,  startling  with  strange  echoes  that 
sweet  and  sacred  solitude,  they  rest,  pastor  and  flock,  where 
two  centuries  ago  they  laid  them  down  together,  in  the  joyful 
hope  of  an  associated  rising  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. But  the  bond  of  this  tender  relation,  as  has  been  stated 
here  to-day,  was  formed  before  they  left  their  native  land.  Af- 
ter their  passage  had  been  engaged,  they  were  granted  the 
privilege  of  assembling  in  an  apartment  of  the  new  hospital  at 
Plymouth,  and  forming  a  church  organization.  They  came 
as  such,  with  their  confession  of  faith  and  covenant,  and  enjoy- 
ed church  ordinances  and  pastoral  ministrations  on  shipboard. 
It  was  not  a  company  of  individual  passengers — it  was  a  church 
of  Christ  that  crossed  the  ocean  in  the  good  ship  which 
brought  them  over.  And  other  companies,  that  were  not  dis- 
tinct organizations,  were  actuated  by  the  same  principles  and 
purposes  ;  they  all  came  to  plant  permanent  institutions  in  these 
wild  solitudes  which  had  been  reserved  for  the  purpose — the 
only  spot  in  the  world  where  such  institutions  could  have  a 
fair  trial  and  room  for  full  expansion. 

*  Henry  Wolcott. 


131 

If  our  privileges  and  blessings  are  to  be  perpetuated,  it  is 
most  evident  that  a  work  is  to  be  done  in  this  generation,  sim- 
ilar to  that  which  our  honored  ancestors  did  in  theirs,  and  that 
this  service  is  to  be  repeated  in  coming  generations,  until  our 
territory  is  subdued  and  our  population  evangelized.  The 
principles  and  the  institutions  which  were  worth  transporting 
across  the  ocean  at  such  cost  and  peril,  are  worth  preserving  at 
every  cost,  and  worth  transplanting  in  the  newly  settled  por- 
tions of  our  land  at  every  personal  sacrifice.  The  spirit  of 
emigration  to  our  Western  States, — now  Western,  but  soon  to  be 
Central,  and  the  seat  of  empire  and  of  destiny  to  our  Re- 
public— is  not  to  be  stimulated  as  a  spirit  of  commercial  spec- 
ulation and  private  gain  ;  but  as  a  spirit  of  patriotic,  philan- 
thropic, and  Christian  enterprise,  it  deserves  our  fostering  care 
and  warmest  encouragement.  There,  as  here,  must  be  laid  the 
deep  and  broad  foundations  of  those  institutions  which  cluster 
around  a  living  faith,  and  with  which  are  identified  the  stabil- 
ity, purity,  and  safety  of  the  community.  That  faith,  which 
is  consecrated  to  us  by  hallowed  memories,  and  which  has 
been  the  source  and  basis  of  our  highest  prosperity,  we  are  to 
preserve  and  propagate,  guarding  it  alike  against  the  "rampant 
ecclesiasticism"  which  would  corrupt  its  simplicity,  and  the 
more  hateful  despotism  which  would  crush  its  moral  life.  We 
are  to  disseminate  it  in  its  integrity,  and  through  it  secure,  if 
possible,  to  the  new  settlements  of  the  West  the  same  auspi- 
cious beginnings  with  the  early  settlements  of  the  East. 

I  cannot  but  think  that  it  is  in  this  field  that  Connecticut 
has  done  her  greatest  work,  reproducing  herself  in  the  young 
and  growing  West.  Within  a  few  years,  as  I  was  passing 
through  the  thriving  towns  and  villages  of  northern  Ohio,  I 
was  constantly  and  pleasantly  reminded  of  my  native  State. 
More  than  once  have  I  thought  of  her  with  pride  and  gratitude, 
as  I  have  stood  on  the  gentle  ascent  which  overlooks  the  most 
charming  scene  in  Illinois,  the  site  of  a  college  which  a  band 
of  her  youthful  students  consecrated  to  sound  learning  and  to 
Christ,  and  which  does  not  dishonor  its  parentage  as  a  daughter 
of  Yale.  And  she  has  her  memorial  in  the  New  England 
churches,  and  Plymouth  churches,  and  nameless  Christian 
churches,  springing  up  over  all  the  boundless  West,  and  whose 


132 

filial  greetings  have  reached  us  here  to-day.  I  deem  it  worthy 
of  special  mention,  that  she  has  furnished  settlers,  good  men 
and  true,  for  that  dark  "  Border  Line,"  along  which  the  stern 
resolve  of  Christian  freemen,  under  God,  now  holds  to  the  an- 
gry surges  of  the  menacing  curse  of  our  Republic  the  relation 
of  that  decree  of  the  Almighty  which  binds  the  ocean  tides — 
"  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further." 

We  have  every  encouragement  to  prosecute  this  good  work 
of  Christian  emigration  and  colonization.  While  colonists  and 
emigrants  who  have  gone  forth  in  the  spirit  of  worldly  adven- 
ture, or  in  quest  of  gain,  have  met  with  various,  and  often, 
adverse  fortunes,  never,  to  my  knowledge,  have  they  borne 
with  them  a  principle  which  was  vital,  in  behalf  of  which  they 
were  ready  to  dare  and  to  suffer,  and  failed,  sooner  or  later,  to 
effect  its  permanent  establishment.  The  history  of  New  Eng- 
land, from  the  day  that  the  Mayflower  moored  in  Plymouth 
harbor,  is  the  glorious  witness  to  this  truth.  Our  own  shores 
are  its  special  monuments ;  for  our  pleasant  homes  and  sanc- 
tuaries, our  dearest  possessions  and  privileges,  are  the  fair  pro- 
duct of  that  tender  germ  of  freedom,  which  distressed  men 
brought  across  these  waters,  and  planted  in  this  solitude,  and 
which  has  here  expanded  and  blossomed  and  ripened  into 
forms  of  social  beauty  and  the  fruits  of  a  religious  liberty, 
which  is  now  the  boast  of  our  land,  and  the  immortal  trea- 
sure of  our  age  and  of  the  ages.  And  what  is  this  band- 
ed emigration  of  New  England  Freemen,  but  the  exodus  of 
another  Pilgrim  Brotherhood,  bearing  with  them  the  principles 
of  our  fathers,  and  transplanting  to  the  fertile  bosom  of  the 
far  West  the  perfected  institutions  of  civil  and  religious  free- 
dom ?  May  we  not  believe,  that  the  guardian  Power,  that 
brought  out  of  oppression  the  choice  vine  that  was  planted  on 
these  coasts,  and  which  has  here  sent  out  her  boughs  unto  the 
sea,  and  her  branches  unto  the  river,  will  watch  over  and  pro- 
tect it  there,  and  prepare  room  before  it,  and  cause  it  to  take 
deep  root  and  fill  the  land,  until  the  hills  of  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska shall  be  covered  with  the  shadow  of  it,  and  the  boughs 
thereof  shall  wave  on  the  summits  of  Oregon  like  the  goodly 
cedars  of  Lebanon  ? 

I  cannot  refrain  from  a  grateful  recognition  of  the  Provi- 


133 

dence  which  has  assembled  us  for  such  a  celebration  on  this 
spot,  combining  with  the  unrivaled  charms  of  the  natural  land- 
scape and  the  pleasant  social  life  that  dwells  beneath  its  shades, 
the  associations  of  a  town  distinctively  Puritan  in  its  origin  and 
history,  in  which  the  principles  that  are  dear  to  us  have  had 
an  ascendency  from  the  beginning — represented  to-day  in  her 
sons,  appreciated  and  honored  throughout  the  State,  and  repre- 
sented in  her  model  schools  and  pleasant  sanctuaries ;  and 
blessed,  early  and  late,  with  the  special  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Have  we  not  been  brought  here  to-day,  that  we  may 
have  before  us  a  happy  illustration  of  the  legitimate  fruits  of 
our  system,  and  an  example  of  the  kind  of  community  which 
it  must  be  our  aim  to  establish  across  the  breadth  of  our  Con- 
tinent, from  shore  to  shore? 


THE  CONGREGATIONAL   POLITY  ADAPTED  BOTH 

TO  INDIVIDUAL  AND  TO  UNITED  ACTION 

IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  CHRIST. 


BY  REV.   JOSEPH  P.  THOMPSON,  D.  D.;  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


MR.  MODERATOR: 

No  careful  reader  of  the  New  Testament  can  fail  to  be  im- 
pressed with  these  two  facts,  as  comprising  the  method  and 
adaptation  of  Christianity  as  a  working  system,  viz.  :  The  in- 
tense personality  of  the  Gospel  in  its  instructions,  addresses, 
appeals,  commands  and  promises  ;  and  the  spiritual  unity  and 
moral  co-operation  of  all  who  accept  it.  The  feature  of  indi- 
vidualism is  always  prominent.  All  that  the  Gospel  is,  in  its 
blessings,  its  hopes,  its  promises — all  that  the  Gospel  requires, 
in  its  obligations  and  commands,  pertains  to  the  individual  soul. 
Each  man  renewed  in  Christ  is  made  a  king  and  priest  unto 
God,  and  each  disciple  is  commissioned  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature. 

Out  of  this  individual,  personal  union  with  and  resemblance 
to  Christ,  arises  the  moral  affinity  of  all  true  believers,  which 
draws  them  together  in  associations  for  his  service  and  glory. 
and  combines  them  for  more  efficient  action. 

It  is  the  beauty  of  Congregationalism,  that  it  combines  in 
their  just  proportions  these  two  features  or  elements  of  the  em- 
bodied Christianity  of  the  New  Testament.  This  polity  re- 
cognizes to  the  full  the  individualism  of  which  I  have  spoken. 
It  looks  for  the  elements  of  a  church  to  individual  souls  renew- 
ed and  sanctified ;  then  it  unites  these  under  natural  laws  of 
association,  with  Christ  as  their  common  head  ;  but  in  the  as- 
sociation called  a  church,  it  guards  every  right,  reserves  every 
privilege,  of  the  individual.  Moreover,  by  the  very  nature  of 
the  association — one  of  equality  in  power,  privilege  and  re- 
sponsibility— it  developes,  in  the  highest  degree,  individual 
character.  Now,  wherever  organic  unity  is  placed  first  in  order.- 
the  source  of  vital  power  in  the  organization  itself  is  wanting  ; 
for  the  vital  power  resides  not  in  the  organization,  but  in  in- 


135 

dividual  souls  composing  that  organization,  and  making  it  vital 
through  their  personal  union  with  Christ,  by  his  Spirit.  Ec- 
clesiasticism,  under  whatever  form,  cripples,  if  it  does  not  de- 
stroy this  power.  The  moment  the  church  as  an  organiza- 
tion, is  preferred  before  the  individual  as  a  Christian,  the  church 
stands  in  the  way  of  its  own  life,  and  hinders  the  power  of  the 
Gospel.  This  may  be  true  of  the  simplest  as  well  as  the 
most  elaborate  system ;  for  as  there  may  be  just  as  much  of 
formalism  in  the  manner  in  which  the  Quaker  takes  his  seat 
in  meeting,  as  in  the  bows  and  genu-flexions  with  which  the 
stoled  priest  performs  the  mass — just  as  much  pride  in  the  Qua- 
keress when  selecting  the  most  subdued  mouse-color  for  her 
shawl  or  bonnet,  as  in  Eugenie  when  ordaining  a  new  fashion 
for  the  world  ; — so  there  may  be  just  as  much  of  Ecclesiasticism 
in  the  administration  of  our  simple  polity,  as  in  the  most  im- 
perious Churchism.  Indeed  our  very  liberty  of  association  may 
become  a  bondage.  The  tendency  to  association  and  to  organic 
action  has  been  pushed  in  our  times  as  far  as  it  will  bear.  No 
man  can  go  beyond  me  in  valuing  that  principle  for  all  its  le- 
gitimate ends  ;  but  how  natural  it  is  for  us  when  we  desire  to 
accomplish  a  particular  object,  to  form  an  Association  for  that 
purpose,  and  imagine  that  the  thing  is  done.  But  this  is  just 
like  the  many  patent  inventions  for  perpetual  motion,  which 
are  perfect  in  every  respect  but  one — they  will  not  move.  How 
much  rhetoric,  of  which  I  confess  my  full  share,  was  wasted 
over  the  telegraphic  cable  ;  but  just  at  the  moment  when  we 
were  chaining  the  sea,  and  girdling  the  world,  and  flashing  in- 
telligence in  advance  of  time,  the  magnetism  oozed  out,  and 
the  batteries  refused  to  speak.  We  frame  our  complicated  or- 
ganizations, nicely  adjusted,  wheel  within  wheel,  but  they  stand 
a  gazing  stock,  or  a  monument  of  folly  and  extravagance  ;  but 
when  the  living  spirit  enters  within  the  wheels,  they  move,  not 
with  the  noise  and  clatter  of  human  machinery,  but  are  lifted 
up  from  the  earth,  and  their  noise  is  as  the  voice  of  the 
Almighty,  the  voice  of  speech,  as  the  noise  of  a  host. 

Whenever  any  organization,  however  wisely  planned,  how- 
ever piously  designed,  comes  to  regard  itself  as  indispensable 
to  the  cause  of  Christ,  this  is  a  sign  that  the  time  has  come 
when  it  should  be  dispensed  with.  The  laudation  of  associa- 


136 

tions  or  societies,  the  making  these  paramount  or  essential  to 
individual  churches,  and  to  the  efficiency  of  individual  Chris- 
tians, the  attempt  to  submerge  individualism  in  mere  organiza- 
tion, argues  that  the  time  has  come  for  modifying  the  principle 
of  associated  effort,  or  for  making  associations  conform  to  the 
laws  and  principles  of  the  New  Testament.  And  here  lies  the 
power  of  our  Congregational  system.  The  remedy  for  an 
abuse  of  the  principle  of  voluntary  association,  does  not  lie  in 
Ecclesiasticism.  That  were  even  a  greater  evil,  for  how  tre- 
mendous the  pressure,  and  how  corrupting  the  influence  of 
Ecclesiasticism  on  the  individual  Christian  life,  all  history  testi- 
fies. But  this  system,  keeping  the  individual  alive,  making 
him  conscious  of  his  rights,  and  privileges,  and  duties  under 
the  Gospel,  supplies  the  safe  corrective  for  all  such  evils. 

Professor  Barrows,  in  his  admirable  portraiture  of  the  New 
Testament  polity,  said  of  it,  that  it  had  no  power  as  against 
kings  and  temporal  power.  But  is  this  so  ?  Is  not  the  indi- 
vidual soul,  living  for  truth,  greater  than  the  organized  power 
against  it  ?  Is  not  the  simple  association  of  believing,  praying 
men,  for  the  worship  of  God  and  the  defence  of  his  truth, 
mightier  than  church-and-state  organization  against  them  ? 
When  Algernon  Sydney  was  condemned  by  the  brutal  Jeffries 
for  having  written,  in  an  unpublished  manuscript,  that  kings 
have  no  right  to  govern  except  for  the  good  of  the  people,  and 
laid  his  hoary  head  upon  the  block,  he  made  his  appeal  to  God 
and  to  posterity.  Ten  years  after,  the  English  Revolution 
answered  that  appeal.  A  new  dynasty  came  in  at  the  call  of 
the  people.  The  parliament  effaced  from  his  name  the  attain- 
der of  treason.  The  liberties  of  England  to-day  bear  witness 
that  the  martyr  Sydney  was  mightier  than  the  House  of  Stuart. 
Barrowe,  Penry,  Greenwood,  the  noble  pioneers  of  religious  free- 
dom and  of  our  Congregational  polity,  seemed  weaker  in  their 
time  than  the  judges  and  prelates  who  shut  them  up  in  prison 
and  condemned  them  to  the  scaffold.  But  which  lives  to-day 
as  a  power  in  the  world,  that  persecuting  ecclesiasticism  of 
Elizabeth,  or  that  free  polity  of  those  heroic  souls  ?  Our 
brother  said  also,  that  this  system  is  weak  for  wire-pulling. 
And  so  it  is  ; — but  it  is  not  weak  against  the  wire  pullers.  For 
when  they  have  held  their  caucuses  and  laid  their  plans  to  tri- 
umph over  individual  rights,  and  to  manage  everything  in  their 


137 

own  way,  men  trained  in  that  simple  regard  for  truth  and  duty, 
which  our  system  inculcates,  bolt  up  before  them  some  great 
principle  of  God's  word,  some  fact  of  Christian  obligation,  and 
in  the  attempt  to  pull  this  down,  the  wires  snap  and  the  wire- 
pullers fall  to  the  ground  discomfitted. 

De  Tocqueville.  who  was  a  most  sagacious  and  philosophical 
observer  of  our  institutions,  remarked  that  the  individualism 
fostered  by  democracy  tends  to  Atheism.  This  may  be  true 
of  a  purely  natural  individualism.  So  it  may  be  that  physical 
science  and  speculative  philosophy,  apart  from  religion, with  their 
freedom  of  investigation  and  their  pride  of  discovery,  tend 
to  Atheism,  though  J  deny  that  this  is  the  legitimate  tendency 
of  any  science,  and  where  there  is  Atheism  in  science,  it  is 
found  rather  in  Pantheistic  tendencies,  which  neutralize  or  ab- 
sorb the  individual.  But  we  speak  of  a  sanctified  individual- 
ism, which  proceeds  from  God  and  lives  in  God,  so  that  the 
man  is  nothing  in  himself,  but  everything  in  Christ  and  because 
Christ  dwells  in  him.  There  is  no  danger  of  Atheism  here, 
for  the  whole  strength  of  the  individual  Christian  lies  in  his 
humility,  and  his  dependence.  And  for  the  same  reason,  this 
secures  the  highest  conservatism ;  for  he  who  has  the  weight- 
iest interests  committed  to  his  trust,  a  soul  to  save,  a  kingdom 
on  earth  to  win  for  his  Master,  a  kingdom  in  heaven  to  enjoy 
as  his  reward,  will  not  knowingly  thrust  aside  or  destroy  any- 
thing that  God  approves  or  values  or  has  appointed  for  the  good 
of  man.  This  sanctified  individualism  also  favors  the  moral 
co-operation  of  Christians  under  the  best  forms,  leaving  them 
free  to  choose  the  time  and  mode  of  their  organic  action.  Who 
has  not  felt  to-day  that  the  men  who  framed  that  Platform 
whose  history  has  been  reviewed,  were  greater  than  the  Plat- 
form which  they  made ;  and  that  the  instrument  made  for  the 
exigency  of  their  times  derives  for  us  much  of  its  value  from 
their  characters.  Let  us  go  down  then,  from  this  glad  fellow- 
ship one  with  another,  from  this  high  and  sacred  fellowship 
with  the  illustrious  dead,  with  a  renewed  determination  to  be 
as  individuals,  faithful  to  our  times,  as  they  were  to  theirs ;  and 
to  vitalize  our  churches,  under  God,  by  summoning  them 
anew  to  the  highest  individual  consecration  and  the  most  zeal- 
ous and  efficient,  because  the  simplest  and  the  purest  united 
effort  for  the  advancement  and  the  glory  of  His  kingdom. 
19 


THE  MISSION  OF  OUR  CHURCHES  AS  DEFINED  BY 
OUR  HISTORY. 


BY  REV.  WM.  I.  BUDINGTON,  D.  D.,  OF  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 

MR.   MODERATOR  : 

The  design  of  history  is  to  teach  every  man  and  every  body 
of  men  their  true  mission.  We  who  are  assembled  here,  in  this 
scene  of  commemoration,  ourselves  a  part  of  history,  in  the 
midst  of  its  solemn  processes,  do  not  come  to  celebrate  a  con- 
summation already  completed,  but  to  feel  for  and  find  the  threads 
of  influence  which  are  passing  through  our  hands  into  the  im- 
measurable future  before  us  ; — we  look  behind,  that  we  may 
look  forward  and  go  forward.  We  do  not  claim,  we  scarce 
need  to  say  it,  that  we  are  the  church ;  we  have  no  disposition 
to  fence  off  other  claimants  from  the  common  heritage.  We 
have  no  wish  even  to  determine  which  of  all  the  various 
churches,  bearing  the  name  of  Christ,  has  the  most  honorable 
position,  and  renders  the  most  distinguished  service  in  the  work 
of  Christ's  kingdom.  Our  purpose  is  simply  by  a  study  of 
the  past,  to  ascertain,  who  and  what  we  are ;  the  principles 
we  have  inherited,  the  work  we  have  done,  and  the  contri- 
butions which  we,  as  a  distinct  communion,  are  to  make  to 
the  church  of  the  future ;  and  how  to  do  our  work  wisely  and 
well. 

The  great  truth,  that  confronts  us  all,  is  that  we  have  re- 
ceived and  are  to  transmit  to  others,  the  common  faith  of 
Christ's  church,  in  connection  with  the  simplest  and  freest  pol- 
ity which  any  denomination  of  Christians  has  inherited.  We 
have  to  combine  the  largest  liberty  with  the  strictest  and  broad- 
est fellowship.  This  describes  our  danger  and  our  glory.  We 
find  our  being,  and  are  to  exercise  our  mission,  in  freedom  as 
between  man  and  man,  and  fidelity  as  toward  God.  In  com- 
mon with  all  orthodox  Christians  we  are  to  contend  earnestly 
for  the  faith  as  delivered  to  the  saints  ;  while  more  than  others 
we  are  to  contend  for  the  rights  of  private  judgment,  and  the 


139 

independence  of  local  churches.  Fidelity  to  our  distinctive 
mission,  therefore,  if  we  intelligently  apprehend  it,  will  not 
only  make  us  catholic,  but  make  catholicity  our  necessary 
manifestation.  Polity  with  us  is  so  subordinate  to  doctrine, 
that  in  many  places  and  for  long  periods  Congregationalism  has 
been  synonymous  with  orthodoxy,  and  we  have  scarcely  been 
conscious  what  our  polity  is,  and  when  conscious,  oftimes  in- 
different to  it ;  and  where  its  distinctive  features  have  been 
zealously  espoused,  it  has  been  because  of  their  supposed  in- 
dispensableness  to  the  reorganization  of  the  church  upon  a 
catholic  basis. 

If  this  be  true,  it  will  not  be  disputed  that  catholicity  itself 
requires  us  to  move  on  in  the  line  of  our  history.  We  believe 
that  we  are  carrying  through  the  centuries  a  most  precious  and 
indispensable  contribution  to  the  church  of  the  future. 
Other  churches  have  something  we  have  not,  we  deny  not  to 
other  and  fellow  laborers,  the  honor  and  blessedness  of  bring- 
ing each  their  contribution  to  this  great  building  of  God  ; 
we  shall  not  contend  with  them  about  the  relative  values 
of  our  several  tributes,  we  will  not  say  that  God  hath  pro- 
vided "  some  better  thing  for  us,"  we  are  content  to  believe, 
"  that  they  without  us  should  not  be  made  perfect."  God 
has  set  men  in  families  and  families  in  states,  and  attachment 
to  the  family  does  not  conflict  with  fidelity  to  the  state.  Just 
so  is  it  in  the  household  of  faith,  our  fidelity  to  the  Christian 
family,  in  which  the  Providence  and  grace  of  God  has  inserted 
us,  will  but  make  us  the  more  serviceable  to  that  church 
which  has  the  world  for  its  field  and  the  ages  for  its  history. 
We  are  to  contribute  to  the  solution  of  a  problem,  which 
touches  the  central  life  of  the  coming  age ;  it  is  to  determine 
whether  an  untrammelled  freedom  of  the  individual  conscience 
and  of  the  local  church  can  be  made  to  consist  with  conserva- 
tion of  the  truth,  and  the  strictest  Christian  fellowship.  How 
much  more  important  will  be  our  office-work  and  function 
among  the  tribes  of  Israel,  if  we  shall  be  able  to  show  that 
the  gospel  of  Christ  unrestrained  by  governmental  rule  has  been 
preserved  in  its  greatest  purity,  and  has  freed  itself  most  easi- 
ly from  error,  when  it  has  been  connected  with  the  largest  lib- 
erties of  the  individual  and  the  church.  We  have  entered. 


140 

upon  an  age  of  critical  investigation,  and  of  rapid  advance- 
ment in  knowledge  ;  tastes  the  most  differing  and  activities  the 
most  diverse,  are  mingled  and  opposed;  every  polity  will 
be  subjected  to  severe  strains  ;  but  the  most  rigorous,  the  most 
minutely  prescriptive,  that  which  offers  an  inelastic  mold,  to 
which  the  church's  thought  and  action  must  shape  themselves, 
will  infallibly  be  broken  in  pieces.  Let  us  therefore  be  true  to 
the  traditions  of  our  churches,  and  show  our  catholicity  by 
doing  well  the  work  which  Providence  assigns  us. 

Let  us  cherish  our  history.  It  is  a  great  and  distinctive  ad- 
vantage, that  we  have  behind  us  the  beginning  and  growth 
of  an  orderly  history  ;  that  our  civil  and  ecclesiastical  histories 
are  similar,  that  they  spring  from  the  same  fountains.  We 
ought  not  to  forget  that  our  fathers  came  here,  to  practise  "the 
positive  part  of  church  reformation."  They  laid  down  princi- 
ples, which  we  are  bringing  more  and  more  to  the  test ;  they 
began  to  apply  them,  and  we  are  to  carry  on  the  application  in 
the  new  method  our  new  circumstances  require.  Let  us  honor 
our  fathers'  memory,  by  preserving  their  memorials  ;  and  let 
us  unite,  under  the  auspices  of  the  "  Library  Association,"  in 
gathering  together  our  treasures,  and  making  their  rooms  in 
Boston  our  historic  galleries.  Let  us  also  follow  our  brethren 
westward,  with  our  sympathies,  and  our  co-operation ;  and  en- 
courage them  to  build  upon  their  own  foundations,  by  making 
the  "  Union  "  at  New  York  the  almoner  of  our  charity,  and  the 
bond  of  our  fellowship.  Let  us  at  the  same  time  encourage, 
around  these  earlier  homes  and  more  ancient  seats,  the  full  and 
free  expression  of  every  grace  that  God  vouchsafes  our  mem- 
bers, and  every  endowment  of  mind  and  taste  by  which  He 
has  enriched  us.  Our  maxim  should  be,  not  repression,  but 
development  and  comprehension.  Freedom  is  the  summer 
sunshine.  Power  is  a  winter's  sun  ;  and  the  most  it  can  effect 
is  but  the  growth  of  a  hot-house. 

But  suffer  me  to  add  one  more  suggestion,  now  that  these 
commemorative  services  are  about  to  end.  We  leave  behind 
us  the  century  and  a  half  of  our  history,  and  begin  amid  hopes 
and  fears,  the  experience  of  another  half  century.  We  who  have 
taken  part  in  these  services,  and  have  been  gathering  up  the 
influences  of  this  occasion,  shall  drop  by  the  way,  we  shall  not 


141 

live  to  carry  on  the  history  we  now  begin  to  its  issues ;  but 
with  us  or  without  us,  it  will  go  on,  and  the  centennial  or  semi- 
centennial will  come  round  again,  and  amid  those  future  com- 
memorations, what  shall  be  the  aspect  of  our  churches,  and  of 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom  ?  It  may  be  that  our  posterity  will 
re-assemble  here,  to  review  their  past,  which  is  in  part  our  fu- 
ture ;  and  shall  it  be  amid  joy  or  sorrow  ?  We  know  thai 
some  things  will  be  here  to  welcome  them,  as  they  have  us. 
This  leafy  month  of  June  will  return  with  its  beauty  and  its 
fragrance.  These  broad  and  shady  streets,  these  hospitable 
homes,  this  picturesque  environment  of  hills  will  remain  to 
attract  and  charm  them,  as  they  do  us.  The  monument  of 
Uncas  will  be  here,  and  it  shall  be  re-visited  by  young  men 
and  maidens  of  that  coming  day.  But  what  shall  be  the  spirit 
that  is  to  actuate  them,  and  amid  what  scenes  of  millennial 
glory  in  the  earth  shall  they  corne  ?  Will  other  Lathrops  and 
Huntingtons,  and  Winslows,  and  Aitchisons,  and  Tracys  be 
treading  these  streets,  and  gathering  in  these  consecrated 
places  ?  Will  the  treasured  dust  of  Norwich  in  other  genera- 
tions be  left  to  hallow  other  and  distant  lands,  and  her  ceme- 
tery claim  a  share  in  almost  every  acre  throughout  the  mis- 
sionary field  ?  The  answer  to  this  question  is  left  in  part  to 
us ;  and  upon  the  spirit  with  which  we  return  to  our  respect- 
ive charges  and  spheres  of  labor,  will  depend,  in  some  meas- 
ure, the  spirit  with  which  our  children  re-assemble  here  the 
next  century  ! 


HISTORICAL  PAPEES. 

MEETINGS  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSOCIATION. 

BY  REV.    MYRON   N.    MORRIS,   REGISTER,   WEST   HARTFORD. 


The  records  of  the  General  Association  of  Connecticut,  now 
in  the  hands  of  the  Register,  commence  with  the  year  1738. 
From  a  note  in  the  CONGREGATIONAL  ORDER,  page  67,  it  appears 
that  "  Hartford  was  designated  as  the  place  where  the  first  meet- 
ing should  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  organization.  The  dele- 
gates met  there  accordingly  on  the  18th  of  May,  1709.  Where 
the  meeting  was  held  in  1710  is  not  certainly  known  ;  the  pre- 
sumption is  it  was  held  in  New  Haven.  It  was  in  New  London 
in  1711,  in  Fairneld  1712,  Wethersfield  1713,  Milford  1714, 
Norwich  1715,  and  Stratford  1717.  Where  it  was  in  1716. 
1718,  1719,  1720  and  1721,  we  are  unable  to  state."  "  When  it 
met  twice  a  year,  as  it  did  from  1721  until  1735,  unless  1732 
be  an  exception,  it  met  at  Hartford  and  New  Haven."  The 
place  of  meeting  in  1735  is  not  known.  In  1736  it  was  in 
Killingworth.  and  in  1737  in  Middletown. 

No  record  appears  to  have  been  made  of  the  Associational  ser- 
mon previous  to  1770.  It  had  been  the  custom,  however,  to 
have  an  annual  sermon,  or  "  public  lecture,"  so  called,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  following  action  taken  in  1768.  "  The  As- 
sociation, finding  some  inconveniences  attending  the  present 
practice  of  this  body  in  delaying  the  public  lecture  upon  these 
occasions  to  the  second  day  of  the  session,  ordered  that  it  be 
declared  as  our  advice  that,  for  the  future,  the  lecture  be  at- 
tended on  the  first  day  of  the  session."  Formerly,  and  for 
many  years  it  was  the  practice  to  have  two  or  three  sermons, 
besides  that  to  the  Association,  preached  by  clergymen  who, 
as  delegates  from  other  bodies,  or  otherwise,  were  providen- 
tially present. 

The  following  table  gives,  so  far  as  has  been  ascertained,  the 
place  of  meeting,  and  the  names  of  the  Moderator,  Scribes  and 
Preacher  for  each  year  from  1738  to  the  present  time  : 


Meetings  of  the  General  Association. 


143 


TE.  PLACE.  MODERATOR. 

1738  Stratford,  William  Burnhain, 

|    Appointed  at 

1739  \   Wallingford, 
(     no  record, 

1740  Hartford,  Timothy  Edwards, 


1741  Lebanon, 

1742  New  London, 

1743  Fail-field, 

1744  Durham, 

1745  Newington, 
1746 


Eleazer  Williams, 
Eliphalet  Adams, 


SCRIBE. 

Thomas  Clapp. 


Ashbel  Woodbridge. 
Ephraim  Little. 
Benjamin  Colton. 


PREACHER.. 


Jacob  llemmingway,  William  Kussrl. 
Nathaniel  Chauncey,  William  Rufesel. 
Benjamin  Colton,  Elnathan  Whitman. 


StePhen  Steelc' 

(  Saybrook,  W'st 

1747  -(    Parish,  now     Jared  Eliot, 
(    Westbrook, 

1748  Beading,  Benjamin  Colton, 

1749  New  Haven, 

1750  West  Hartford,   William  Russel, 

1751  Windham,          William  Gaylord, 

1752  Killingworth,      Jared  Eliot,- 

(  Fail-field,  West 

1753  -<     Parish,  now    Noah  Hobart, 
(  Green's  Farms, 

(  New  Cheshire, 

1754  •<  in  Wallingford,  Samuel  Hall, 
(  now  Cheshire, 

|    Middletown, 

1755  •<  North  Society,  Jared  Eliot, 
(  now  Cromwell, 

1756  Windham,  Solomon  Williams, 

JacobEliot> 

I  No  Record,  ap- 

1758  <      pointed  at 

(     Woodbury, 

1759  Danbury,  Moses  Dickinson, 

1760  North  Branford,  Samuel  Hall, 

1761  Hartford,  Jared  Eliot, 

1762  Mansfield,  George  Beckwith, 

1763  Lyme,  3d  Parish  Ephraim  Little, 

1764  Woodbury,          Jedediah  Mills, 

Edward  Eills, 
Thomas  Ruggles, 
Thomas  Ruggles, 


1765  Norwalk, 

1766  Guilford, 

1767  Middletown, 

1768  Coventry, 

1769  Norwich, 


Solomon  Williams, 
Solomon  Williams, 


Ephraim  Little. 

Jonathan  Merrick. 

Sam'l  Whittelsey  Jr. 
William  Russel. 
John  Trumbull. 
Noah  Welles. 
Thomas  Ruggles, 

Samuel  Whittelsey. 
Timothy  Pitkin. 

Nodi  Welles. 

Elnathan  Whitman. 

(  Joseph  Fish. 

(  EbeuezerDevotion. 

Elnathan  Whitman. 
Elnathan  Whitman. 
Elnathan  Whitman. 
Noah  Welles. 
Ebenezer  Devotion. 
Robert  Ross. 
Izrahiah  Wetmore. 
Edward  Eells. 
William  Russel. 
Noah  Welles. 
Ebenezer  Devotion. 


No  business  done, 
so  few  present. 


144 


Meetings  of  the  General  Association. 


YR.  PLACE.  MODERATOR.  SCBIBE.  PKEAOHER. 

3770    New  Milford,       Daniel  Humphrey,       Robert  Ross,  Jonathan  Lee. 


1771  Reading, 

1772  j 


Joseph  Bellamy,  D.D.  Simon  Waterman, 

Elnathan  Whitman,    Samuel  Lockwood,     Benj.  Woodbridge. 


|      New  Cam- 

1773  -<      bridge,  now    George  Beckwith,        Benj'n  Boardman,      Ilezekiah  Bissel. 
{         Bristol, 


1774    Mansfield, 


Benjamin  Throop,        Ebenczcr  Baldwin,     James  Cogswell. 


f  Norwich,  New 

1775  •]  Concord  Soc'y,  Elnathan  Whitman,  Elizur  Goodrich,        Eliph'tHuntington 
(    now  Bozrah, 

1776  Cornwall,           John  Trumbull,  Ebenezer  Baldwin. 

1777  Fair-field,              Nathaniel  Bartlett,  Samuel  Wales,            Enoch  Huntington. 

1778  North  ford,            Joseph  Bellamy,  D.D.  Andrew  Eliot,             Nicholas  Street. 

1779  Haddam,              Benj.  Pomeroy,  D.  D.  David  Ely,                  Benj.  Pomeroy,n.i>. 

1780  Tolland,               Samuel  Lockwood,  Joseph  Huntington,  Theodore  Hinwdale 

1781  Lenn(G°"  Ephraim  Little,  Thomas  Wells  Bray,  Jeremiah  Day. 


1782  |    HuSgtoT    Samuel  Newell,  Cyprian  Strong,  Elisha  Rexford. 

1783  Lyme,  James  Cogswell,  Elizur  Goodrich,  Josiah  Whitney. 

Timothy  Pitkin,  Justus  Mitchell,  Jeremiah  Day. 

James  Cogswell,  Josiah  Whitney, 


1784  Torringford, 

1785  Franklin, 

1786  Durham, 


Joseph  Bellamy,  D.D.  Enoch  Huntington,  Jo'n  Edwards,  D.D. 

Benjn  Trumbull,  Benj.  Trumbull. 

1788   West  Hartford,    Nathaniel  Taylor,        Cyprian  Strong,  John  Willard. 
1789 


(  Berlin,  Britain 

1787  •<    Society,  now    John  Smalley, 
(    New  Britain, 


Lebanon,  2d 

Parish,  now  Samuel  Lockwood,  William  Lockwood,  Timothy  Stone. 
Columbia, 

1790  Greenfield,  Nathaniel  Taylor,  Benj.  Trumbull,         William  Seward. 

1791  Washington,  Nathaniel  Bartlett,  Jon'n  Edwards,  D.D.  Cotton  M.  Smith. 

1792  Waterbury,  Mark  Leavenworth,  Cyprian  Strong,          Isaac  Lewis. 

1793  Cheshire,  Elizur  Goodrich,  D.D.  j  D'D  Noah  Benedict- 


]  795   Killingworth,      Elizur  Goodrich,  D.D. 


1796   Norwich, 

Nathan  Williams  D.D. 

1797   Windham, 

John  Smalley, 

1798   Hebron, 

Benj.  Trumbull,  D.  D. 

1799   Hartford, 

Levi  Hart, 

1800  Norfolk, 

Levi  Hart, 

Eli'r  Goodrich>  »-D- 
,A  .^wland  Cyprian  Strong. 

Achillcs  Mansfield. 

Samuel  Nott- 
hf°rd'  Moses  C.  Welch. 
Charles  Backus. 


Meetings  of  the  General  Association. 


145 


TR.  PLACE. 

1801  Litchfield, 

1802  Norwalk, 

1803  Stratford, 

1804  North  Haven, 

1805  Guilford, 

1806  Wethersfield, 

|    Saybrook,  2d 

1807  J.    Society,  now 
(    Saybrook, 

1803   New  London, 

1809  Lebanon. 

1810  Ellington, 

1811  Farmington, 

1812  Sharon, 

1813  Watertown, 

1814  Fairfield, 

1815  D  anbury, 

1816  New  Haven, 

1817  i  East  Guilford, 
(  now  Madison, 

1818  Middletowu, 


1819  -  -yine)  now 

(  Old  Lyine, 

1820  Colchester, 

1821  Thompson, 

1*2;}  Tolland, 

1823  Windsor, 

1824  Goshen, 

1825  Litchfield, 

1826  Stamford, 

1827  Stratford, 

1828  New  Ilav.-!), 
1*29  Wallingford, 

1830   Wethersfield, 
IQOI    (  Saybrook,  now 

1OO1       \     f\l  J       ^  i  , 

]  Old  Saybrook, 

1832  Norwich, 

1833  Brooklyn, 

1834  Vernon, 

1835  Enfield, 


MODERATOR. 

Jeremiah  Day, 
Noah  Benedict, 
Noah  Benedict, 
Cyprian  Strong,  D.  D. 
John  Foote, 
Cyprian  Strong,  D.  D. 

Nathan  Perkins,  D.D. 

Azel  Backus, 
Nehemiah  Prudden, 
Moses  C.  Welch, 
Nathan  Perkins,  D.D. 
Elijah  Parsons, 
David  Ely,  D.  D., 
Samuel  Goodrich, 
Daniel  Smith, 
Nathan  Perkins,  D.D. 
William  Lyman,  D.D. 
Abel  Flint, 
Moses  C.Welch,  D.D. 
Samuel  Nott, 
Samuel  Nott, 
Aaron  Dutton, 
William  L.  Strong, 
Samuel  Goodrich, 
Calvin  Chapin,  D.  D., 
Samuel  Goodrich, 
Daniel  Dow, 
Henry  A.  Eowland, 
Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D., 
N.  W.  Taylor,  D.  D« 
Luther  Hart, 
Caleb  J.  Tenney.o.D. 
Aaron  Dutton, 
Calvin  Chapin,  D.D., 
Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D., 

20 


i  A-uhul  Hooker, 
I  Nathan  Perkins, 
(  IIenrv  Channiiii,', 
"(  David  Ely, 
(  William  Lyman, 
|  Lemuel  Tyler, 
I  Lemuel  T'vler, 
|  Andrew  Yates, 
(  Calvin  Cliapin? 
|  Samuel  Goodrich, 
j  John  Elliot, 
j  Azel  Backus, 

(  David  Ely, 

(  Bezaleel  Pinneo, 

(  Chauncey  Lee, 
\  Abel  Flint, 
j  Chauncey  Lee, 
(  Elijah  Waterman, 
^  Samuel  Merwin, 
"(  Ileman  Humphrey, 
I  Wm.  Lvman,  D.  D. 
\  David  Smith, 
(j  Andrew  Yates, 
j  Daniel  Dow, 
j  Elijah  Waterman, 
"j  Bezaleel  Pinneo, 
j  Henry  A.  Rowland, 
|  Dan  Huntington, 
<  Sam'l  Whittlesey, 
I  Horatio  Waldo, 
j  Lyman  Bcecher, 
1  Sam'l  P.  Williams, 
(  Ira  Hart, 
j  David  D.  Field, 
j  Aaron  Hovey, 
j  Caleb  J.  Tenney, 
j  Thomas  Bobbins, 
|  Samuel  Merwin, 
(  Nath'l  W.  Taylor, 
\  Joseph  Harvey, 
(  Samuel  Merwin, 
(  William  Andrews, 
(  Joab  Brace, 
}  Hart  Talcott, 
j  Abel  McEwen, 
I  Nathaniel  llewit, 
j  Noah  Porter, 
I  Timothy  P.  Gillet, 
(  Thomas  Eobbins, 
)  JoshuaL.  Williams, 
j  Thomas  Prudden, 
\  EpaphrasGoodman 
*  Sitiniicl  Merwin, 
\  Caleb  J.  Teniiey, 
\  John  M;irsh, 
}  Edw'd  W.  Hooker, 
(  Abel  McEwen, 
(  Isuac  Parsons, 
j  Edward  Bull, 
\  Leon'd  E.  Lathrop, 
(  Ansel  Nash, 
\  Samuel  Merwin, 
j  Timothy  P.  Gillet, 
{  Joseph  Harvey, 
i  Cyrus  Yale, 
(  George  A.Calhoun, 
j  L.  P.  Hickok, 
j  Joel  Mann, 
j  Thomas  F.  Davies, 
\  Tho's  L.  Shipman, 


PREACHER. 

Nathan  Perkins. 
Asahel  Hooker. 
Noah  Benedict. 
Hez.  Eipley,  D.  D. 
David  Ely. 
Ben.Trumbull,  D.D. 

Thomas  W.  Bray. 

Calvin  Chapin. 
David  Selden. 
Walter  King. 
Zebulon  Ely. 
William  L.  Strong. 
Nathaniel  Gaylord. 
Peter  Starr. 
Uriel  Gridley. 
Hemau  Humphrey. 
William  Andrews. 
Samuel  Merwin. 
.John  Elliot. 
Eoyal  Eobbins. 
Fred.W.  Hotchkiss 
Abel  McEwen. 
Erastus  Learned. 
Hubbel  Loomis. 
Thomas  Eobbins. 
James  Beach. 
Noah  Smith. 
Edw.  W.  Hooker. 
Thorn.  Punderson. 
Nat.  W.Taylor,  D.D. 
Daniel  Smith,  D.  D. 
C.  J.Tenney,  D.D. 
Chester  Colton. 
C.  B.  Everest. 
Anson  Atwood. 


146 


Meetings  of  the  General  Association. 


YR.  PLACE. 

1836  Norfolk, 

1837  NewMilford, 

1838  Norwalk, 

1839  Danbury, 

1840  New  Haven, 

1841  New  Haven, 

1842  Wethersfield, 

1843  Westbrook, 

1844  New  London, 

1845  Plainfleld, 

1846  Somers, 

1847  Suffleld, 

1848  Hartford, 

1849  Salisbury, 

1850  Litchfleld, 

1851  Bridgeport, 

1852  Danbury, 

1853  Waterbury, 

1854  New  Haven, 

1855  Meriden, 

1856  Middletown, 

1857  Lyme, 

1858  West  Killingly, 


MODERATOR. 

George  A.  Calhonn,  j 
Noah  Porter,  D.  D., 
Nath.  W.  Taylor,o.D.  j 
Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D.,  j 
David  D.  Field,  D.D.  j 
Nath.W.Taylor,  D.D.  -j 
James  Beach, 


SCRIBES. 

Anson  Rood, 
Sam'l  H.  Eiddel, 


|a™; 


Nath'l  Hewit,  D.  „., 


|  S.  W.  S.  Dutton, 
"(  Joseph  Eldridge, 

T  ,  T,  (  Edwin  Hall, 

Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.,  j  A  L  Whitman> 

Abel  McEwen,  j  l^fi^S 


Joab  Brace, 


Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D.,  j 
Samuel  Merwin, 
C.  A.  Goodrich,D.D.,   j 
Nath'l  Hewit,  D.D. ,     ' 

Hiram  P.  Arms,          <  0' 
(  b- 

Nath'l  Hewit,  D.  D.,   j 

George  J.  Tillotson,    -j 

Joel  H.  Linsley,  D.  D.  |  ^  ^Rock 

Theo.D.Woolsey,D.D.  | 

David  L.  Pannelee,    •! 

Jared  E.  Avery,          | 

Elisha  C.  Jones,          j 


PREACHER. 

George  A.Calhoun. 
Bennett  Tylcr,D.  D. 
Jairus  Burt. 
Gurdon  Hayes. 
Nath'l  Hewitt,  D.D. 
Abner  Brundage. 
Leonard  Bacon. 
C.A.  Goodrich  D.D. 
Zebulon  Crocker. 
Isaac  Parsons. 
Alvan  Bond. 
Geo.  J.  Tillotson. 
Albert  Smith. 
W.  Thompson, D.D. 
Noah  Porter,  D.  D. 
Cyrus  Yale. 


S.  B.  S.  Bissell. 
William  B.  Weed. 


Jonathan  Brace. 
George  I.  Wood. 
J.  L. 


REGISTERS  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSOCIATION. 

No  Register  was  appointed  until  1774.  Previous  to  this 
time,  the  Scribe,  each  year,  recorded  the  minutes,  and  passed 
the  book  to  his  successor. 

Benjamin  Trumbull,  appointed  in  1774,  resigned  1795. 

Cyprian  Strong,  "  1795,         "         1807. 

Calvin  Chapin,  "  1807,      died      1851. 

Theophilus  Smith,  "  1851,        "         1853. 

Myron  N.  Morris,  "  1854. 


Meetings  of  the  General  Association.  147 

TREASURERS. 

Abel  Flint,  appointed  in    1799,  served  till  1824. 

Joel  H.  Linsley,  1824,  1832. 

Samuel  Spring,  "  1832,         "  1836. 

Horace  Bushnell,  1836,         "  1837. 

Samuel  H.  Riddel,  1S37,         "  1841. 

Edward  R.  Tyler,  1841,         «  1846. 

Edward  Strong,  "  1846,         "  1847. 

Edward  R.  Tyler,  "  1847,         "  1848. 

Austin  Putnam,  "  1849. 

STATISTICAL  SECRETARY  AND  TREASURER. 

Austin  Putnam,  1857,         "  1859. 

William  H.  Moore,  "  1859. 


MOOR'S  INDIAN  CHARITY  SCHOOL. 

After  the  Great  Awakening,  Rev.  Eleazar  Wheelock,  pastor 
of  the  church  in  Lebanon,  Second  Society,  now  Columbia, 
commenced  his  labors  as  a  teacher  of  youth.  In  December? 
1743,  he  was  induced  to  receive  among  the  boys  in  his 
school,  Samson  Occum,  a  Mohegan  Indian,  aged  about 
nineteen,  whom  he  kept  in  his  family  for  four  or  five  years 
and  educated.  This  Indian,  as  it  is  well  known,  became 
a  preacher  of  distinction.  Mr.  Wheelock  soon  formed  the 
plan  of  an  Indian  Missionary  School.  He  conceived  that 
educated  Indians  would  be  more  successful  than  white 
men,  as  missionaries  among  the" red  men,  though  he  proposed 
also  to  educate  a  few  English  youth  as  missionaries.  The 
project  was  new,  for  the  labors  of  Sargent  and  the  Brainerds, 
as  well  as  those  of  Eliot  and  the  Mayhews,  were  the  labors  of 
missionaries  among  the  Indians,  and  not  labors  designed  to  form 
a  band  of  Indian  missionaries.  Two  Indian  boys  of  the  Dela- 
ware tribe  entered  the  school  in  Dec.,  1754,  and  others  soon 
joined  them.  In  1762  he  had  more  then  twenty  youths  under 
his  care,  chiefly  Indians.  For  their  maintenance,  funds  were 
obtained  by  subscription,  from  benevolent  individuals,  from  the 
Legislatures  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  and  from  the 
Commissioners,  in  Boston,  of  the  Scotch  Society  for  Propagating 
Christian  Knowledge.  Joshua  Moor,  a  farmer  in  Mansfield, 
having,  about  the  year  1754,  made  a  donation  of  a  house  and 
two  acres  of  land  in  Lebanon,  contiguous  to  Mr.  Wheelock's 
house,  the  institution  received  the  name  of  "  Moor's  Indian 
Charity  School."  In  this  school  several  gentlemen  were  asso- 
ciated with  Mr.  Wheelock  as  teachers ;  but  in  1764,  the  Scotch 
Society  appointed  a  Board  of  Correspondents  in  Connecticut, 
who,  in  1765,  sent  out  white  missionaries  and  Indian  school 
masters  to  the  Indians  on  the  Mohawk,  in  New  York. 

In  1766,  Mr.  Wheelock  sent  Mr.  Occum,  and  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Whitaker  to  Great  Britain,  to  solicite  benefactions  to  the 
school,  that  its  operations  might  be  enlarged.  The  success  of 


Moor's  Indian  Charity  School.  149 

this  mission  was  great,  and  was  owing  chiefly  to  the  labors  of 
Mr.  Occum.  He  was  the  first  Indian  preacher  from  America, 
who  ever  visited  Great  Britain,  and  he  preached  several  hun- 
dred sermons,  with  great  acceptance,  to  numerous  assemblies  in 
England  and  Scotland.  The  King  subscribed  £200,  and  Lord 
Dartmouth  50  guineas.  The  amount  of  monies  collected  in 
England  was  about  £7000  sterling,  and  between  £2000  and 
£3000  in  Scotland,  held  by  a  board  of  trustees,  of  which  Lord 
Dartmouth  was  president,  and  by  the  Scotch  Society.  To  them 
Mr.  Wheelock  presented  his  accounts,  on  the  allowance  of 
which  he  drew  for  the  monies  voted.  The  expenditures  were 
chiefly  for  the  support  of  the  scholars  in  the  school,  (of 
whom,  in  some  years  there  were  thirty  or  forty,)  of  their  teach- 
er, and  of  missionaries  and  school  masters  among  the  Indians. 

After  conducting  Moor's  School  in  Lebanon  about  fifteen 
years,  Dr.  Wheelock,  in  order  to  increase  its  usefulness,  deter- 
mined to  remove  it  to  some  new  country,  and  to  obtain  for  it 
an  incorporation  as  an  academy,  in  which  a  regular  arid  thor- 
ough education  might  be  given  to  the  youth,  Indian  and  En- 
glish, who  should  be  assembled  in  it.  At  this  time  there  were 
only  three  colleges  in  New  England :  Harvard,  Yale,  and 
Brown  University,  in  its  infancy,  at  Warren,  R.  I.  When  the 
design  was  made  known  to  the  public,  he  received  various  of- 
fers from  the  owners  of  new  lands,  and  from  different  towns. 
At  length,  in  1770,  he  removed  to  Hanover,  New  Hampshire, 
and  obtained  the  charter  of  Dartmouth  College,  which  was 
partly  endowed  by  Gov.  W^entworth.  But  the  school  was 
not  merged  in  the  college,  though  the  President  of  the  college 
was  the  President  of  the  school.  Of  Moor's  school  the  Earl 
of  Dartmouth  was  a  benefactor,  but  not  of  Dartmouth  College, 
— to  the  establishment  of  which  he  and  the  other  trustees  were 
opposed,  as  being  a  departure  from  the  original  design. 

Dr.  Wheelock  lived  but  nine  years  in  his  new  location,  but 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  John  Wheelock,  as  President  of  the 
school  and  college.  Soon  after  Dr.  Wheelock  began  to  send  out 
missionaries  into  the  wilderness,  the  controversy  with  Great 
Britain  commenced,  which  blighted  his  fair  and  encouraging 
prospects  ;  and  during  the  last  few  years  of  his  life,  there  was  ac- 
tual war,  in  which  many  of  the  Indians  acted  with  the  enemy. 


150  Moor's  Indian  Charity  School. 

The  whole  number  of  missionaries,  educated  at  this  school,  we 
are  unable  to  state  ;  but,  at  the  period  of  the  first  college  com- 
mencement, in  1771,  the  number  of  scholars  destined  to  be 
missionaries  was  twenty-four,  of  whom  eighteen  were  white 
and  only  six  were  Indians.  The  change  which  Wheelock 
made  from  his  original  plan  was  the  result  of  experience.  He 
had  found  that  of  forty  Indian  youths  who  had  been  under  his 
care,  twenty  had  returned  to  the  vices  of  savage  life.  The  cel- 
ebrated Brant  was  one  of  his  pupils.  Among  the  missionaries 
whom  he  employed  wera  Occam,  C.  J.  Smith,  T.  Chamberlain, 
S.  Kirkland,  L.  Frisbie,  and  D.  McClure.  The  missionary 
Kirkland,  was  the  father  of  President  Kirkland  of  Harvard 
College,  and  the  missionary  Frisbie  was  the  father  of  Professor 
Frisbie  of  the  same  college.  The  missionary  McClure  was 
the  Rev.  D.  McClure  of  East  Windsor,  Connecticut.  Dr. 
Wheelock  died  in  1771.  See  notice  of  his  life  in  Sprague's 
Annals,  Vol.  1.,  397,  and  Dr.  Aliens'  Biog.  Diet. ;  of  Samson 
Occum,  Sprague's  Annals.  Vol.  3,  192. 


FIRST  MEETING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  BOARD  OF 
COMMISSIONERS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


BY  REV.  NOAH  PORTER,  D.  D.,  FARMINGTON. 


The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
was  first  organized  at  Farmington,  in  this  State,  Sept.  5,  1810. 
At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Association  of  Massa- 
chusetts, held  in  Bradford,  in  June  of  that  year,  four  young 
men,  Adoniram  Judson,  Jr.,  Samuel  Nott,  Jr.,  Samuel  J.  Mills 
and  Samuel  Newell,  members  of  the  Theological  Seminary  in 
Andover,  had  offered  themselves  to  be  Missionaries  of  Christ  to 
the  heathen,  and  committed  themselves  to  the  Association  for 
advice  and  direction  as  to  the  course  they  should  take  in  enter- 
ing on  the  work  to  which  they  were  devoted  ;  and  the  Associ- 
ation had  proceeded,  with  solemn  deliberation  and  prayer,  to 
institute  a  Board  for  that  purpose,  and  for  the  general  object  to 
which  these  young  men  had  consecrated  themselves,  under  the 
name  of  "  The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,"  consisting  of  nine  members,  all  of  them,  in  the 
first  instance,  chosen  by  that  Association,  and  afterwards  to  be 
chosen  annually,  five  of  them  by  that  body,  and  four  of  them 
by  the  General  Association  of  Connecticut ;  and  had  chosen 
the  following  gentlemen  to  constitute  the  Board :  His  Excel- 
lency John  Tread  well,  Esq.,  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy  D  wight,  Gen. 
Jedediah  Huntington,  and  Rev.  Calvin  Chapin.  of  Connecticut ; 
Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Lyman,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Spring,  William 
Bartlett,  Esq.,  Rev.  Samuel  Worcester  and  Deacon  Samuel  H. 
Walley,  of  Massachusetts.  In  complaisance  to  Governor 
Treadwell,  chairman  of  the  Commissioners,  their  first  meeting 
was  held  in  Farmington  ;  and,  circumstances  making  it  incon- 
venient to  accommodate  them  at  his  house,  the  meeting  was 
held  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Noah  Porter,  the  pastor  of  the  church 
there,  who  was  invited  to  take  part  in  their  deliberations.  A 
majority  only  were  present,  viz.,  Governor  Treadwell,  Doctors 
Lyman  and  Spring,  and  Messrs.  Worcester  and  Chapin.  The 
first  day  and  part  of  the  second  were  employed  in  anxious 


152  First  Meeting  of  the  American  Board. 

consultations  relative  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Board,  the  di- 
rection to  be  given  to  its  missionaries,  and  the  raising  of  the 
necessary  funds.  The  Constitution  being  formed,  the  Board 
was  organized  by  the  choice  of  the  following  gentlemen  as  its 
officers  :* 

His  Excellency,  JOHN  TREADWELL,  ESQ.,  President. 

Rev.  DR.  SPRING,    Vice  President. 
WILLIAM  BARTLETT,  ESQ.,  -\ 

Rev.  DR.  SPRING,  \  Prudential  Committee. 

Rev.  SAMUEL  WORCESTER,  } 
Rev.  CALVIN  CHAPIN,  Recording1  Secretary. 
Rev.  SAMUEL  WORCESTER,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
Deacon  SAMUEL  H.  WALLEY,  Treasurer. 
Mr.  JOSHUA  GOODALE,  Auditor. 

The  sensation  excited  by  this  movement,  among  the  pastors 
and  churches  of  New  England,  was  profound.  No  doubt  was 
entertained  that  the  young  men,  in  whose  minds  it  began, 
were  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  They  were  now  publicly 
devoted  to  the  service  of  Christ  among  the  heathen,  for  life. 
Their  example  furnished  an  appeal  to  the  churches  for  their  co- 
operation that  could  not  be  unheeded ;  and  the  Commissioners 
selected  to  receive  and  apply  their  charities,  and  to  direct  and 
superintend  their  missions,  were  among  the  choicest  of  New 
England's  sons.  Of  Governor  Tread  well,  a  few  years  after 
his  death,  it  was  said  that  he  was  "  the  last  of  the  Puritan  Gov- 
ernors of  Connecticut."  Perhaps  this  could  not  now  be  said 
with  due  consideration  of  the  piety  of  some  who  have  suc- 
ceeded him  ;  but  it  was  said  of  him,  with  reference  not  to  his 
piety  alone,  but  also  to  his  theological  knowledge,  his  simplicity 
of  manners,  his  firmness  of  purpose,  and  the  interest  which  he 
took  in  the  order  of  the  churches,  the  propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  the  cause  of  evangelical  religion.  '  When  he  was  made 
the  first  President  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  he  had  long  been  prized  by  the  ministers  of  New 
England  as  one  of  the  ablest  theological  writers  in  this  coun- 
try ;  and  had  for  many  years  been  the  Chairman  of  the  Trus- 

*  A  more  ample  account  of  the  above  may  be  found  in  the  Panoplist,  Vol.  3,  pp. 
88—90,  and  181. 


First  Meeting  of  the  American  Board.  153 

tees  of  the  Missionary  Society  of  Connecticut,  to  which  office 
he  had  been  chosen  at  the  first  organization  of  that  Board. 
Dr.  Spring,  of  Newburyport,  also  was  eminently  a  public  man, 
and  was  honorably  connected  with  some  of  the  most  important 
philanthropic,  educational  and  evangelical  enterprises  of  his 
day.  Dr.  Lyman,  of  Hatfield,  was  one  of  the  earliest  friends 
and  patrons  of  the  Hampshire  Missionary  Society,  and  in  1812 
was  chosen  its  President.  On  the  death  of  Dr.  Spring  in  1819, 
he  was  chosen  Vice  President  of  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners, and  in  1823  its  President.  Dr.  Worcester,  of  Salem, 
also  stood  eminent  among  the  ablest  ministers  of  New  England, 
as  a  preacher  and  an  author,  an  expounder  of  the  Christian  faith, 
and  its  defender  ;  and  as  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
American  Board  from  its  institution  till  his  death  in  1821,  he 
contributed,  probably,  more  than  any  other  man  to  the  high 
and  honorable  character  which  it  has  sustained.  Dr.  Chapin, 
of  Rocky  Hill,  was  too  well  known  to  need  any  extended  no- 
tice. He  was  distinguished  for  exactness,  enterprise  and  hu- 
mor, and  a  constant  interest  in  all  Christian  and  benevolent  en- 
terprises. He  continued  the  Recording  Secretary  of  the  Board 
from  its  organization  till  near  the  close  of  his  useful  life. 


21 


MISSIONARIES    TO  FOREIGN    LANDS 
NECTICUT.* 


FROM    CON- 


NAME. 

PLACE   OF   BIRTH    OR 

FIELD  OF 

EARLY   RESIDENCE. 

MISSIONARY    LABOR. 

Rev.  William  Aitchison, 

Norwich, 

China. 

Mrs.  Samuel  Allis, 

Pawnees. 

(Eineline  Palmer.) 

Rev.  Lorin  Andrews, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

Mrs.  S.  L.  Andrews, 

Woodbury, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

(Parnelly  Pierce.) 

Rev.  William  T.  Arms, 

Norwich  Town, 

Armenians. 

Mr.  Daniel  H.  Austin, 

Winchester, 

Osages. 

Mrs.  D.  H.  Austin, 

Mansfield, 

Osages. 

(Lydia  Hovey.) 

Mrs.  P.  Auten, 

Fan-field, 

Choctaws. 

(Lydia  Chapman.) 

Rev.  David  Avery, 

Franklin, 

N.  Y.  -Indians. 

Rev.  David  Bacon, 

Woodstock, 

Mackinaw. 

Mrs.  David  Bacon, 

Bethlem, 

Mackinaw. 

(Alice  Parks.) 

Rev.  D.  Baldwin,  M.  D., 

Durham, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

Mrs.  D.  Baldwin, 

North  ford, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

(Charlotte  Fowler.) 

Mrs.  Dyer  Ball, 

New  Haven, 

Singapore. 

(Lucy  H.  Mills.) 

Mrs.  Elias  R.  Beadle, 

Hartford, 

Syria. 

(Hannah  Jones.) 

Rev.  William  A.  Benton. 

Tolland, 

Syria. 

Rev.  Isaac  Bird, 

Salisbury, 

Syria. 

Rev.  William  Bird, 

Hartford, 

Syria. 

Rev.  Lemuel  Bissell, 

East  Windsor, 

Ahmed  nu  ggur. 

Abraham  Blatcheley,  M.  D. 

Madison, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

Mrs.  A.  Blatcheley, 

Lyme, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

(Jemima  Marvin.) 

*  The  list  of  missionaries  here  given,  includes  the  names  of  several  who  went  to 
different  Indian  tribes  before  the  formation  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions  ;  also  the  names  of  a  few  who,  though  not  born  in  Connecticut, 
spent  their  youth  in  the  state,  made  here  a  profession  of  their  faith,  and  were  mem- 
bers of  our  churches  at  the  time  of  their  leaving  for  their  fields  of  labor.  The  names 
of  missionaries  who  were  born  iu  other  states  and  who  came  to  Connecticut  only  for 
the  purpose  of  education,  or  who  resided  here  only  while  they  were  pursuing  their 
ntudies,  are  not 


Foreign  Missionaries  from  Connecticut. 


155 


Mrs.  A.  C.  Blunt, 

(Harriet  Ellsworth.) 

Rev.  H.  Bradley, 
Mrs.  H.  Bradley, 

i Catharine  Wheeler.) 

Rev.  D.  Brainerd, 
Rev.  J.  Brainerd, 
Rev.  David  Breed, 
Mrs.  David  Breed, 

(Sarah  A.  Griswold,) 

Mrs.  Ebenezer  Burgess, 

(Mary  Grant.) 

Rev.  E.  Butler,  M.  D., 
Mrs.  E.  Butler, 

(Esther  Post.) 

Rev.  Cyrus  Byington, 
Mrs.  W.  Chamberlin, 

(Flora  Hoy t.) 

Rev.  G.  Champion, 
Rev.  J.  E.  Chandler, 
Mrs.  Henry  Cherry, 

(Charlotte  H.  Lathrop.) 

Mrs.  H.  Cherry. 

(Jane  E.  Lathrop.) 

Rev.  Epaph's  Chapman, 
Rev.  Edward  Chester, 
Rev.  Titus  Coan, 
Mr.  Amos  S.  Cooke, 
Miss  Delia  Cooke, 
Mrs.  C.  C.  Copeland, 

( Cornelia  Ladd.) 

Henry  DeForest,  M.  D. 
Rev.  J.  T.  Dickinson, 
Mr.  Henry  Dimond, 
Miss  Lucinda  Downer, 
Mrs.  Sylvester  Ellis, 

(Sarah  Hoyt.) 

Mr.  J.  C.  Ellsworth, 
Rev.  James  Ely, 
Mrs.  James  Ely, 

(Louisa  Everest.') 

Rev.  Levi  Frisbie, 
Rev  Stephen  Fuller, 
Rev.  Charles  Gager, 


Chatham, 

East  Haven, 
Fairfield, 


Colebrook, 


Cherokees. 

N.'Y.  Indians. 
N.  Y.  Indians. 

N.  Y.  Indians. 
N.  Y.  Indians, 
Choctaws. 
Choc  taws. 

Satara. 


Norfolk, 
Canaan, 

Cherokees. 
Cherokees. 

Bristol, 
Danbury, 

Choctaws. 
Cherokees. 

Westchester, 
N.  Woodstock, 
Norwich, 

Zulus. 
Madura. 
Madura. 

Bozrah, 

East  Haddam. 
New  Haven, 
Killingworth, 
Danbury, 
New  Hartford, 
Franklin, 

Seymour, 
Norwich, 
Fairfield, 
Norwich, 
Danbury, 

Chatham, 

Lyme, 

Cornwall, 

Bran  ford, 
East  Haddam. 
Bozrah. 


Madura. 

Madura. 

Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Ojibwas. 
Choctaws. 

Syria 
Singapore. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Choctaws. 
Cherokees. 

Cherokees. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 

Delaware  Indians. 


156 


Foreign  Missionaries  from  Connecticut. 


Rev.  Anson  Gleason, 
Mrs.  A.  Gleason, 

(Bothiah  W.  Tracy.) 

Rev.  J.  Goodrich, 
Rev.  Jona'n  S.  Green, 
Mrs.  J.  S.  Green, 

(Theodocia  Arnold.) 

Rev.  Elnathan  Gridley, 
Mrs  Peter  J.  Gulick, 

(Fanny  H.  Thomas.) 

Mrs.  C.  Hall, 

(Matilda  Hotchkiss.) 

Mrs.  Wm.  Hall, 

(Emeline  Gaylord.) 

Mrs.  Charles  Harding, 

(Julia  M.  Terry.) 

Mrs.  Sarah  Haskell, 

(Sarah  Brewster.) 

Mrs.  Allen  Hazen, 

(Martha  K.  Chapin.) 

Mrs.  Story  Hebard, 

(Rebecca  W.  Williams.)    • 

Rev.  Abel  H.  Hinsdale, 
Rev.  H.  R.  Hitchcock, 
Mrs.  J.  Hitchcock, 

(Nancy  Brown.) 

Mrs.  Thomas  Holman, 

(Lucia  Euggles.) 

Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Hough, 
Rev.  A.  Hoyt, 
Mrs.  A.  Hoyt, 

(Esther  Booth.) 

Mrs.  S.  Hutchings, 

(Elizabeth  C.  Lathrop.) 

Mrs.  William  Hutchison, 

.  (Forresta-G.  Shepherd.) 

Rev.  Mark  Ives, 
Mrs.  M.  Ives. 

(Mary  A.  Brainerd.) 

Rev.  Stephen  Johnson, 
Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland, 
Mr.  H.  O.  Knapp, 
Mrs.  H.  O.  Knapp, 

(Charlotte  Close.) 

Mrs.  E.  Lathrop, 

(Cornelia  F.  Dolbear.) 

Mrs.  J.  Y.  Leonard, 

( Amelia  A.  Gilbert.) 


Hartford, 
Lebanon, 

Choctaws. 
Choctaws. 

Wethersfield, 
Lebanon, 
Millington, 

Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 

Farmington, 
Lebanon, 

Turkey. 
Sandwich  Islands. 

Cheshire, 

Stockbridge  Ind's. 

Norfolk, 

Senecas. 

Plymouth, 

Bombay. 

Norwich, 

Assyria. 

Somers, 

Ahmednugger. 

Lebanon, 

Syria. 

Torrington, 
Manchester, 
Eastbury, 

Assyria. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Cherokees. 

Brookfield,  Sandwich  Islands. 


New  Britain, 

Danbury, 

Southbury, 

New  London, 
New  Haven, 

Goshen, 
Haddam, 

Griswold, 
Lisbon, 
Greenwich, 
Greenwich, 

MontviLe, 
New  Haven, 


Choctaws. 

Cherokees. 

Cherokees. 

Ceylon. 
Turkey. 

Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 

China. 

N.  Y.  Indians. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 

Choctaws. 
Armenians. 


Foreign  Missionaries  from  Connecticut. 


157 


Rev.  Charles  Little, 

Columbia, 

Madura. 

Rev.  H.  Lobdell,  M.  D., 

Danbury, 

Assyria. 

Mrs.  H.  Lobdell, 

(Lucy  C.  Williams.) 

Ridgefield, 

Assyria. 

Rev.  J.  Lockwood, 

New  Haven, 

Choctaws. 

Rev.  Nathan  L.  Lord, 

Norwich, 

Ceylon. 

Rev.  D.  B.  Lyman, 

New  Hartford, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

Rev.  David  McClure, 

Delaware  Indians. 

Mrs.  Dwight  W.  March, 

(Julia  W.  Peck.) 

New  Haven, 

Assyria. 

Mrs.  Samuel  D.  Marsh, 

(Mary  Skinner.] 

Fairfield, 

Zulus. 

Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills, 

Torringford, 

Africa. 

Rev.  C.  C.  Mitchell, 

Groton, 

Nestorians. 

Mrs.  C.  C.  Mitchell, 

(Eliza  A.  Richards.) 

Meriden, 

Nestorians. 

Rev.  Samuel  Moseley, 

Mansfield, 

Choctaws. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Mariwaring, 

Norwich, 

Cherokees. 

Rev.  Benjamin  C.  Meigs, 

Bethlem, 

Ceylon. 

Mrs.  B.  C.  Meigs, 

(Sarah  M.  Peet.) 

Bethlem, 

Ceylon. 

Rev.  J.  Miner, 

Guilford, 

Stockbridge  Ind's. 

Mr.  Eastman  S.  Minor, 

New  Haven, 

Ceylon. 

Mr.  Samuel  Moulton, 

Bolton, 

Choctaws. 

Mrs.  S.  Moulton, 

(Lucinda  Field.) 

Killingworth, 

Choctaws. 

Mrs.  Murgee, 

CAfnrv                    "1 

Lyme, 
Franklin, 

India. 
Mahrattas. 

Rev.  Samuel  Nott, 

Rev.  Samuel  Occum, 

Columbia. 

Mr.  J.  Olmsted, 

Ridgefield, 

Choctaws. 

Mrs.  Benjamin  Parker, 

(Mary  E.  Baker.) 

Branford, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

Mr.  Henry  Parker, 

Litchfield, 

Cherokees. 

Mrs.  H.  Parker, 

(Philena  Griffin.) 

Simsbury, 

Cherokees. 

Rev.  M.  Palmer,  M.  D. 

Stanwich, 

Cherokees. 

Mrs.  M.  Palmer, 

(Clarissa  Johnson.) 

Colchester, 

Cherokees. 

Mrs.  M.  Palmer, 

(Jernsha  Johnson.) 

Colchester, 

Cherokees. 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Parsons, 

(Catharine  Jennings.) 

Derby, 

Armenians. 

Rev.  John  M.  S.  Perry, 

Sharon, 

Ceylon. 

158 


Foreign  Missionaries  from  Connecticut. 


Mrs.  J.  M.  S.  Perry, 

Norwich, 

Ceylon. 

(Harriet  J.  Lathrop.J 

Rev.  Benj.  Parsons, 

Fairfield. 

Armenians. 

Rev.  Gideon  H.  Pond, 

Washington, 

Sioux. 

Rev.  S.  W.  Pond, 

Washington, 

Dakotas. 

Mrs.  S.  W.  Pond, 

Washington, 

Dakotas. 

(Rebecca  Smith.) 

Rev.  Rollin  Porter, 

Somers, 

Gaboon. 

Mrs.  Rollin  Porter, 

Somers, 

Gaboon. 

/•^                * 

Rev.  William  Potter, 

Lisbon, 

Cherokees. 

Mrs.  W.  Potter. 

Hampton, 

Cherokees. 

(Laura  Weld.) 

Rev.  A.  T.  Pratt,  M.  D. 

Berlin, 

Armenians. 

Mrs.  A.  T.  Pratt, 

New  Haven, 

Armenians. 

(Sarah  F.  Goodyear.) 

Mrs.  Wm.  C.  Requa, 

Wilton, 

Osages. 

(Susan  Comstock.) 

Rev.  Elijah  Robbins, 

Thompson, 

Zulus. 

Mrs.  E.  Robbins, 

Rockwell, 

Zulus. 

(Adaline  Bissell.) 

Mrs.  Samuel  P.  Robbins, 

Enfield, 

Siam. 

(Martha  E.  Pierce.) 

Miss  Emily  Root, 

Farmington, 

N.  Y.  Indians. 

Mr.  Samuel  Ruggles, 

Brookfield, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

Mrs.  Samuel  Ruggles, 

East  Windsor, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

(Nancy  Wells.) 

Rev.  J.  L.  Seymour, 

Plymouth, 

Ojibwas. 

Charles  S.  Shelton,  M.  D. 

Huntington, 

Madura. 

Mrs.  C.  S.  Sherman, 

Stonington, 

Syria. 

(Martha  E.  Williams.) 

Rev.  Wm.  C.  Shipman, 

Wethersfield, 

Sandwich  Islands. 

Miss  Pamela  Skinner, 

Glastenbury, 

Choctaws. 

Miss  Juliette  Slate, 

Manchester, 

Choctaws. 

Rev.  Eli  Smith,  D.  D. 

North  ford, 

Syria. 

Mrs.  E.  Smith, 

Norwich, 

Syria. 

(Sarah  L.  Huntington.) 

Mrs.  Henry  H.  Spaulding, 

Berlin, 

Oregon. 

(Eliza  Hart.) 

Rev.  S.  M.  Spencer, 

West  Hartford. 

Miss  Eunice  Starr, 

Norwich, 

Choctaws. 

Rev.  Edwin  Stevens, 

New  Canaan, 

China. 

Rev.  W.  R.  Stocking, 

Middletown, 

Nestorians. 

Mrs.  W.  R.  Stocking, 

Weston, 

Nestorians. 

(Jerusha  E.  Gilbert.) 

Foreign  Missisuaries  from  Connecticut. 


159 


Rev.  Seth  B.  Stone. 
Rev.  John  C.  Strong, 
Mrs.  Charles  L.  Stewart, 

<  Harriet  Tiffany.) 

Rev.  H.  S.  Taylor, 
Mrs.  D.  Temple, 

(Eliza  Hart.) 

Mr.  W.  A.  Thayer, 
Mrs.  W.  A.  Thayer, 

(Snsan  Whitiug.) 

Rev.  J.  L.  Thompson. 
Miss  Cynthia  Thrall, 
Rev.  R.  Tinker, 
Mrs.  E.  S.  Town, 

i  Hannah  E.  Cone.) 

Miss  Susan  Tracy, 
Rev.  William  Tracy, 
Rev.  William  F.  Vaill, 
Mrs.  W.  F.  Vaill, 

(Asenath  Selden.) 

Mrs.  H.  J.  Van  Lennep, 

(Mary  E.  Haives.) 

Mrs.  H.  J.  Van  Lenriep, 

(Emily  F.  Bird.) 

C.  H.  Wetmore,  M.  D., 
Rev.  Samuel  Whitney, 
Rev.  E.  Whittlesey, 
Rev.  S.  G.  Whittlesey, 
Mrs.  Miron  Winslow, 

(Harriet  W.  Lathrop.) 

Mr.  Abner  Wilcox, 
Mrs.  A.  Wilcox, 

(Lucy  E.  Hart.) 

Mrs.  L.  S.  Williams, 

(Matilda  Loomis.) 

Rev.  Samuel  Wolcott, 
Rev.  A.  Wright, 


Madison, 

Granby, 

Stamford, 

West  Hartford, 
Hartford, 

Roxbury, 
Colebrook. 

Montville, 
Windsor, 
Hartford, 
Manchester, 

Norwich, 
Norwich, 
Hadlyme, 
Hadlyme, 

Hartford, 
Hartford, 

Lebanon, 
Branford, 
Salisbury, 
New  Preston, 
Norwich, 

Harwinton, 
Norfolk, 


Zulus. 
Choctaws. 
Sandwich  Islands. 

Madura. 
Turkey. 

N.  Y.  Indians. 
N.  Y.  Indians. 

Cyprus. 
Cherokees. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Choctaws. 

Choctaws. 
Madura. 
Osages. 
Osages. 

Turkey. 
Turkey. 

Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Ceylon. 
Madras. 

Sandwich  Islands. 
Sandwich  Islands. 


Winchester,          Choctaws. 


East  Windsor, 
Columbia, 


Syria. 
Choctaws. 


CORNWALL  MISSION  SCHOOL. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  for  Foreign  Missions  in  1816, 
it  was  resolved  that  a  school  for  the  education  of  foreign  youths 
should  be  established  in  this  country,  and  a  committee  of  seven 
were  appointed  to  carry  out  the  design  of  the  Board  in  this 
respect.  The  committee  met  October  29th,  1816,  in  New  Ha- 
ven, at  the  house  of  Dr.  Dwight,  and  adopted  a  constitution,  in 
which  the  object  of  the  school,  and  the  means  for  securing  the 
object  were  specified.  The  object  of  the  school  was  stated  to 
be  "  to  educate  heathen  youth  in  such  a  manner,  that  with  fu- 
ture professional  studies  they  might  be  qualified  for  mission- 
aries, schoolmasters,  interpreters  and  physicians  among  heathen 
nations ;  and  to  communicate  such  information  in  agriculture 
and  the  arts  as  should  tend  to  promote  Christianity  and  civil- 
ization." To  carry  out  this  design,  a  farm  and  suitable  build- 
ings were  to  be  provided  for  the  practice  of  agricultural  pur- 
suits ;  the  useful  branches  of  education  were  to  be  taught,  and 
also  the  leading  truths  of  the  Christian  religion.  Accordingly 
a  farm  was  purchased  at  Cornwall,  suitable  buildings  erected, 
and  a  school  commenced  about  the  first  of  May,  1817,  with 
twelve  pupils. 

Rev.  Herman  Daggett,  of  New  Canaan,  for  several  years  a 
pastor  on  Long  Island,  and  also  a  teacher  of  academies  in  dif- 
ferent places,  was  soon  thought  of  as  a  suitable  person  to  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  it ;  but  as  he  was  detained  by  his  engage- 
ment in  the  academy  at  New  Canaan,  Mr.  Edwin  W.  Dwight, 
of  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts,  took  his  place  for  one  year. 
Mr.  Daggett,  at  his  inauguration,  in  May,  1818,  delivered  an 
address.  Gov.  Treadwell  also  made  an  address ;  and  Rev. 
Joseph  Harvey,  of  Goshen,  preached  a  sermon.  All  of  these 
were  published  in  connection  with  the  memoirs  of  Obookiah. 
Considering  the  great  variety  of  taste,  disposition,  age,  lan- 
guage and  character  of  the  pupils,  a  more  difficult  task  can 
hardly  be  conceived  than  the  management  of  such  a  school  ; 
and  Mr.  Daggett,  by  his  great  kindness  and  wisdom  sue- 


Cornwall  Mission  Schot.1.  161 

ceeded  in  giving  to  the  school  a  very  harmonious  char- 
acter, and  in  rendering  it  for  a  season,  the  instrument  of  no 
inconsiderable  usefulness.  His  pupils  were  greatly  attached  to 
him,  and  not  a  fe\v  of  them  thought  to  have  been  radically  and 
permanently  benefitted  by  his  influence.  But  Mr.  Daggett's 
health  gave  way,  and  his  connection  with  the  school  ceased  in  a 
little  less  than  six  years.  Being  thus  obliged  to  retire  from  all 
public  service,  he  still  resided  in  Cornwall  about  eight  years  lon- 
ger, and  died  in  March,  1832.  Rev.  Amos  Bassett,  D.  D.,  who 
had  just  left  the  pastorate  at  Hebron,  (subsequently  settled  at 
Monroe,)  succeeded  Mr.  Daggett  in  1824,  and  continued  in 
charge  of  the  school,  till  it  was  disbanded.  Dr.  Bassett  died 
in  1828.  having  been  a  member  of  the  corporation  of  Yale 
College  from  1810.  He  was  an  excellent  scholar,  a  sensible 
and  solemn  preacher,  and  especially  distinguished  for  the  grav- 
ity of  his  deportment,  and  for  godly  simplicity  and  sincerity. 
Rev.  Herman  L.  Vaill,  now  of  Litchfield,  was  for  a  time  an 
assistant  in  the  school. 

The  Prudential  Committee  reported  in  1817,  that  the  condi- 
tion of  the  school  was  highly  satisfactory  ;  five  of  the  scholars 
were  from  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  four  of  whom  were  hope- 
fully pious  and  exemplary  in  their  conduct  ;  Henry  Obookiah 
was  of  the  number.  For  several  following  years  the  school 
seems  to  have  grown  in  numbers,  and  in  the  confidence  and 
regard  of  the  Christian  public.  The  reports  of  the  Prudential 
Committee  f?r  the  successive  years  indicate  a  satisfactory  pro- 
gress in  the  various  branches  of  education,  and  an  encouraging 
degree  of  interest  in  spiritual  things. 

The  committee  in  their  report  for  the  year  1821  say,  "  The 
expectations  of  the  community  are  surpassed — the  history  of 
its  progress  is  such  as  to  encourage  the  education  of  heathen 
youth,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  number  of  scholars  may  be 
greatly  increased  through  the  agency  of  our  commerce,  which 
extends  to  all  parts  of  the  world."  The  conduct  of  the  scholars 
was  declared  good,  and  their  progress  in  study  commendable. 

In  1822  the  whole  number  of  scholars  was  thirty-four,  of 
whom  twenty-nine  were  heathen,  representing  more  than  half 
as  many  different  nations  and  tribes.  There  were  natives  of  Su- 
matra, China,  Bengal,  Hindostan,  Mexico,  New  Zealand  ;  of  the 

22 


162  Cornwall  Mission  School. 

Society,  Sandwich  and  Marquesas  Islands,  the  Isles  of  Greece 
and  the  Azores  ;  and  from  among  the  North  American  Indians, 
there  were  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  Osages,  Oneidas,  Tuscaroras, 
Senecas,  and  of  the  St.  Regis  tribe,  in  Canada.  In  age  they 
ranged  from  mere  childhood  to  adult  years.  The  languages 
which  they  spoke  rivalled  in  number,  those  which  were  heard  at 
Jerusalem  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Though  the  ends  of  the 
school  were  secured,  and  its  general  interests  were  remarkably 
sustained  amid  all  the  difficulties  attending  it ;  yet  it  became, 
after  a  few  years,  obnoxious  to  public  censure, — perhaps  to  an 
undue  measure  of  prejudice, — on  account  of  the  intermarriage 
of  two  or  three  Indians  with  respectable  young  ladies  in  the 
neighborhood.  In  J825  the  Prudential  Committee  raised  the 
question  whether  the  school  should  be  continued.  It  had 
answered  the  expectations  of  its  friends,  but  the  relations  of 
the  Board  with  foreign  lands  had  changed,  so  that  the  reasons 
which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  school  had  lost  their  force. 
It  was  thought  best,  however,  to  continue  it  for  the  present, 
but  without  special  effort  to  increase  its  numbers. 

The  committee  appointed  in  1827  for  investigating  the  whole 
subject,  reported  that  the  school  be  discontinued.  Their  rea- 
son was  not  that  the  school  in  itself  was  a  failure,  but  that  the 
objects  which  it  was  designed  to  secure  could  now  be  se- 
cured better  in  some  other  way.  Schools  had  now  become  es- 
tablished at  the  various  Missions.  Natives  could  be  educated  at 
these  schools  cheaper,  and  with  a  better  prospect  of  being  di- 
rectly engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Missions.  Besides,  there 
were  difficulties  in  educating  them  here,  arising  from  the  curi- 
osity of  the  public  from  visiting,  and  consequently  too  much 
diversion  from  their  studies  and  pursuits. 

In  view  of  these  and  various  other  reasons  the  Board  thought 
best  to  discontinue  the  school,  though  not  regretting  the  estab- 
lishment and  continuance  of  it  thus  far. 

For  full  accounts  of  the  origin,  progress  and  results  of  the 
School,  see  Missionary  Herald,  and  Reports  of  the  Board, 
1816-1827  ;  and  for  notices  of  Mr.  Daggett  and  Dr.  Bassett^ 
see  Dr.  Sprague's  Annals,  vol.  2,  page  291,  and  Dr.  Allen's  Bi- 
ographical Dictionary. 


CONGREGATIONAL  HOME  MISSIONS  IN 
CONNECTICUT. 

BY  REV.  HORACE  HOOKER,  HARTFORD. 

Connecticut,  from  the  character  of  its  founders  and  their 
aim  in  its  settlement,  ought  to  be,  and  in  fact  to  a  good  degree 
has  been  a  misssionary  State. 

First  in  order,  we  may  reckon  the  attempts  at  different 
times  to  Christianize  the  native  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the 
colony.  For  our  present  purpose,  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
these  attempts  were  both  more  numerous  and  successful  than 
is  generally  supposed. 

The  next  exhibition  of  the  home  missionary  spirit,  as  it 
would  now  be  regarded,  was  by  "  divers  ministers  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  colony,  who,  early  in  the  last  century,  were  at  the 
pains  and  charge  of  going  and  preaching  in  the  town  of  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  by  turns."  In  1722,  "the  Association  of  New 
London  County  petitioned  Gov.  Saltonstall  to  grant  a  brief  for 
contributions  in  so  many  towns  and  congregations  as  his  wis- 
dom should  see  meet,"  for  the  support  of  preaching  in  that 
place.  In  1724,  the  General  Court,  upon  application,  allowed 
a  brief  to  "  be  emitted  "  to  "  encourage  the  building  and  finish- 
ing of  a  meeting  house  in  Providence" — the  beginning  of  that 
care  of  Connecticut  for  her  "  little  sister,"  which  has  been  ex- 
ercised so  beneficially  in  later  days. 

In  1774,  the  General  Association  recommended  subscriptions 
among  the  people  for  supporting  missionaries  "  to  the  scattered 
back  settlements  in  the  wilderness  to  the  northwestward,"  in 
what  is  now  Vermont  and  the  northern  part  of  New  York 
These  settlements,  to  a  large  extent,  were  composed  of  emi- 
grants from  Connecticut.  Rev.  Messrs.  Williams  of  Northford, 
Goodrich  of  Durham,  and  Trumbull  of  North  Haven,  were 
chosen  a  committee  to  receive  funds  and  supply  the  place  of 
missionaries,  when  those  appointed  by  the  General  Association 
failed,  Rev.  Messrs.  Taylor  of  New  Milford,  Waterman  of 
Wallingford,  and  Bliss  of  Ellington,  were  selected  as  missiona-. 


164  Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 

nes.  to  spend  five  or  six  months  on  a  missionary  tour,  "  if  the 
committee  are  able  to  provide  for  their  support  so  long."  The 
war  of  the  revolution  interrupted  the  scheme  and  the  growth 
of  the  settlements. 

In  1788,  the  subject  came  again  before  the  General  Associa- 
tion, in  consequence  of  an  address  by  New  Haven  West  As- 
sociation ;  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Jonathan  Edwards,  Timothy 
Dwight,  Joseph  Huntington  and  Cotton  M.  Smith,  were  chosen 
a  committee  to  consider  and  report  what  was  proper  to  be  done 
in  the  matter.  It  was  again  before  the  General  Association  in 
1791.  In  1792,  Middlesex  County  Association  having  report- 
ed to  the  General  Association  that  they  had  appointed  Rev. 
Mr.  Vaill  as  missionary  to  the  new  settlements,  the  General 
Association  voted  its  approval  of  the  measure,  and  a  commit- 
tee was  chosen  to  ask  liberty  from  the  General  Assembly  to 
take  up  collections  in  the  churches  for  the  support  of  missiona- 
ries in  this  service.  In  1793,  it  was  voted  that  the  missiona- 
ries spend  four  months  on  their  tours.  Pastors  were  allowed 
$5.00  per  week  for  their  services  and  $4.00  per  week  for  sup- 
plying their  pulpits  in  their  absence.  For  several  succeeding 
years,  a  Committee  of  Missions  was  appointed  by  the  General 
Association — annual  contributions  were  taken  up  in  our 
churches — and  numbers  of  missionaries  entered  the  field — 
chiefly  pastors,  who  left  their  flocks,  temporarily,  to  minister  to 
the  destitute  in  the  wilderness. 

What,  at  that  time,  were  the  location  and  condition  of  the 
ever  shifting  West,  may  be  gathered  from  the  directions  given  by 
the  Committee  of  Missions  to  one  of  the  missionaries,  [Rev. 
Aaron  Kinrie,]  "  to  go  north  and  south  of  the  Mohawk  river, 
in  Otsego  and  Herkimer  counties,  as  far  westward  as  there  are 
settlements  proper  to  be  visited."  In  1793,  a  misssionary  from 
Connecticut  held  the  "  first  regular  meeting  ever  attended,"  at 
Manlius,  in  the  center  of  New  York,  and  the  next  day,  another 
at  Pompey,  ten  miles  further  south,  also  "  the  first  ever  at- 
tended "  there.  Finding  the  settlements,  to  use  his  own 
language,  "more  numerous  than  had  been  suspected,"  he  ven- 
tured to  deviate  from  the  course  prescribed  in  his  instructions, 
that  he  might  be  able  to  give  to  the  committee,  composed  of 
such  men  as  the  younger  President  Edwards  and  Dr.  Trum- 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut.  165 

bull,  information  "  which  might  be  useful  to  them  in  regulating 
future  missions,"  and  save  others  from  the  embarrassments  he 
had  experienced  from  his  "  ignorance  of  the  country,'7  and 
from  not  meeting  a  person  who  could  give  him  "  any  extensive 
description  of  it."  The  labor  of  the  missionary  seems  more 
strange  than  it  was  needless,  in  preparing  for  the  use  of  such  a 
committee  a  rude  map  of  this  region,  now  filled  with  populous 
towns,  and  even  cities,  which  were  then  of  too  recent  origin  to 
have  a  fixed  name.  A  year  later,  Utica  was  composed  of  "a 
log  tavern  and  two  or  three  other  buildings."  On  this  map  it 
is  called  "  Fort  Schuyler ;"  and  on  a  later  one  by  the  same 
missionary,  has  still  the  alias,  "  Old  Fort  Schuyler ;"  while 
Rome  is  called  "  Fort  Stanwix." 

The  fields  entered  by  the  missionaries  from  Connecticut, 
during  this  period,  were  chiefly  in  Vermont  and  New  York. 
The  western  part  of  New  Hampshire  was  also  visited. 

LIST  OP  MISSIONARIES  APPOINTED  BY  THE  GENERAL  ASSOCIATION, 
FROM  1774  TO  1798.* 

1774 — Rev.  Messrs.  Taylor,  Waterman,  Bliss. 

1788— *Rev.  Jeremiah  Day. 

1793 — Rev.  Messrs.  David  Huntington,  Ammi  R.  Robbins,  *Sam- 
uel  J.  Mills,  "Cotton  M.  Smith,  Jos.  Vaill,  Samuel  Eells, 
Theodore  Hihsdale,  *John  Shepherd. 

1794 — Rev.  Messrs.  Theodore  Hinsdale,  Aaron  Kinne,  •Moses  C. 
Welch,  "Jeremiah  Day,  *Asahel  Hooker,  Azel  Backus,  Cyp- 
rian Strong,  William  Lyman,  *David  Higgins,  and  Mr. 
Benjamin  Wooster. 

1795 — Rev.  Messrs.  *Kinne,  Robbing,  Knapp,  *Hart  and  Justus 
Mitchell. 

1796— Rev.  Messrs.  *Joel  Benedict,  Kott,  *Rexford,  Vaill,  •Mitch- 
ell, 'McClure,  W.  Lyman,  *Prudden,  and  John  D.  Perkins. 

1797 — Rev.  Messrs.  Solomon  Morgan,  *David  Huntington,  P.  V. 
Booge,  Alexander  Gillet,  Simon  Waterman,  *Jesse  Towns- 
end. 

1798 — Andrew  Judson,  Ammi  Lewis,  Setb.  Williston,  Walter  King, 
Zebulon  Elv,  Amos  Bassett. 


*Those  marked  thus  *  arc  known  to  have  gone  on  missionary  tours;  others,  doubtless, 

d'nl  the  snme,  but  the  scanty  documents  do  not  show  the  fact. 


166  Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


APPOINTED  BY   THE   COMMITTEE. 


1795 — Rev.   P.   V.   Booge,    Rev.   "Lemuel  Tyler,   (Huntington,) 

*Rev.  J.  D.  Perkins,  (Plain field  ) 
1796 — Rev.  John  Gurley,  (Lebanon,)  Rev.  Mr.  King. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Association,  in  1797,  Rev. 
Messrs.  Levi  Hart,  Joseph  Strong,  and  Samuel  Miller — the  last 
a  delegate  from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States — "  were  appointed  to  draft  an  ad- 
dress to  the  several  associations  on  the  subject  of  a  Missionary 
Society"  for  the  state.  "  Drs.  Dwight,  Dana  and  Trumbull 
were  appointed  a  committee  of  correspondence"  on  the  same 
subject.  At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Association,  at  Hebron, 
in  1798,  Rev.  Messrs.  Hart,  Edwards,  Nathan  Strong  and 
Nathaniel  Irwin — the  last  a  delegate  from  the  Presbyterian 
General  Assembly — were  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  of 
a  Missionary  Society,  which,  "  after  due  consideration,"  was 
adopted.  The  General  Association  is  the  "  Missionary  Socie- 
ty of  Connecticut"  the  objects  of  which  are  "to  Christianize 
the  heathen  in  North  America,  and  to  support  and  promote 
Christian  knowledge  in  the  new  settlements  of  the  United 
States," — "  both  to  be  pursued  as  circumstances  shall  point  out, 
and  as  the  trustees,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  General 
Association,  shall  direct."  The  trustees,  twelve  in  number, 
six  clergymen  and  six  lay  brethren  of  our  churches,  were  to 
be  appointed  by  ballot.  In  1802,  the  trustees  were  incorpo- 
rated by  the  General  Assembly,  with  power  to  hold  property 
not  exceeding  $100,000.  Collections,  authorized  for  some 
time  by  the  state,  were  made  annually  in  our  denomination,  on 
the  first  Sabbath  in  May,  from  1798  to  1830,  except  in  the 
years  1809,  1810,  1811.  The  whole  amount  contributed  is 
$77,223.29. 

A  Narrative  of  Missions  was  published  annually  by  the 
trustees.  The  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine  devoted  no 
small  share  of  its  pages,  and  all  its  profits,  amounting  to  $11,- 
520.07,  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  society.  This  socie- 
ty is  among  the  oldest  of  the  kind  in  the  country,  in  respect  to 
organization  ;  and  in  effect  it  is  the  oldest,  the  General  Associa- 
tion having  begun  to  act  by  a  committee  in  1792.  For  many 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut.  167 

years,  its  operations  were  more  extensive  than  those  of  any 
kindred  institution  in  the  land.  Its  resources  were,  perhaps,  as 
well  proportioned  to  the  wants  of  that  period,  as  the  larger 
resources  of  national  societies  are  to  the  existing  wants. 

"  To  Christianize  the  Heathen  in  North  America,"  is  the 
first  object  mentioned  in  the  constitution  to  be  accomplished 
by  the  society,  and  several  of  its  early  donations  were  for  that 
specific  purpose.  In  1800,  Mr.  David  Bacon  was  sent  to  ex- 
plore the  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes  south  and  west  of 
Lake  Erie.  On  his  return,  he  was  ordained  at  the  close  of  the 
same  year — and  taking  his  station  at  Mackinaw,  established 
a  mission  among  the  Chippeways.  Here,  he  continued  labor- 
ing faithfully  in  hardships  and  sufferings,  till  1805 ; — when  the 
enterprise  proving  more  expensive  than  the  limited  means  of 
the  Society  could  bear,  consistently  with  the  increasing  de- 
mands of  the  white  settlements,  the  mission  was  discontin- 
ued. He  returned  to  New  Connecticut,  where  he  is  still  held 
in  grateful  remembrance. 

With  the  exception  of  a  small  grant  ($100)  to  the  Wyandott 
Indians  in  1809,  and  the  more  recent  aid  to  the  Mohegans  in 
supporting  a  minister  eleven  years,  in  Connecticut — no  further 
attempts  have  been  made  for  the  convention  of  the  natives, 
through  the  medium  of  this  society.  The  whole  amount  it 
has  expended  on  account  of  Indian  missions,  is  S3, 665.01. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  missionaries  sent 
out  by  the  Board,  were  found  among  the  granite  mountains 
of  New  Hampshire — on  the  beautiful  hills  of  Vermont,  then 
covered  with  woods,  or  sparsely  dotted  with  log  huts  or  lowly 
cottages — among  the  scattered  settlements  of  middle  or  north- 
ern New  York,  and  a  little  later,  along  the  delightful  borders 
of  the  Seneca  Lake,  and  in  the  rich  valley  of  the  Genesee. 
They  searched  for  "the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel"  on 
the  pine-clad  acclivities  of  northern  Pennsylvania,  and  wended 
their  solitary  way  through  the  dense  and  lofty  forests  of  New 
Connecticut.  This  region  the  society  began  to  cultivate  when 
its  whole  population  was  less  than  twelve  hundred. 

In  1812—13,  the  trustees,  in  connection  with  the  Missionary 
Society  of  Massachusetts,  sent  out  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  with 
an  associate,  to  explore  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  which 


168  Home   Missions  in  Connecticut. 

was  then  almost  a  terra  incognita,  in  regard  to  its  religious  con- 
dition. Their  report  was  widely  circulated,  and  had  more 
influence,  probably,  than  any  measure  of  the  period,  in  awaking 
public  attention  to  the  bearing  of  that  valley  on  the  future 
destinies  of  our  country.  The  trustees  soon  after  established 
Kentucky,  the  Missouri  Territory,  and  Louisiana  as  missionary 
fields. 

In  1816,  the  venerated  Giddings,  a  missionary  of  this  socie- 
ty, organized  a  Presbyterian  church  in  St.  Louis,  the  first,  it 
is  believed,  in  Missouri.  In  1817,  Rev.  Elias  Cornelius,  also 
commissioned  by  the  trustees,  laid  the  foundation  of  a  church 
in  New  Orleans,  of  which  the  lamented  Lamed  soon  after 
became  pastor. 

The  Missionary  Society  of  Connecticut,  has,  it  is  reckoned, 
organized  not  far  from  500  churches — some  of  them  now 
among  the  most  flourishing  in  the  land.  Its  receipts  from 
1798  to  1859,  have  been  $252,512.83. 

In  1799,  the  trustees  began  to  procure  books  for  the  new 
settlements — and  in  1803,  a  committee,  among  whom  were 
his  Honor  John  Tread  we  11,  Chief  Justice  Ellsworth,  and  Rev. 
Drs.  Strong  and  Perkins,  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  "  Sum- 
mary of  Christian  Doctrine"  for  distribution  among  the  des- 
titute— of  which  6000  copies  were  published  in  1804,  as  a  first 
edition.  Before  societies  were  organized  specially  for  this  part 
of  the  work,  the  trustees  had  expended,  in  1820,  more  than 
$6000  for  books — beside  distributing  large  numbers  presented 
by  authors  and  benevolent  individuals. 

At  first,  the  missionaries  of  the  society  were,  of  necessity, 
itinerant — as  there  were  no  churches,  and  the  population  was 
scattered.  Afterwards,  the  trustees  availed  themselves  of  the 
services  of  local  pastors,  for  what  time  these  could  spare  from 
their  own  congregations.  For  many  years,  their  grants  have 
been  chiefly  confined  to  aiding  in  the  support  of  pastors  over 
one  or  two  churches.  Not  a  few  of  the  missionaries  were  set- 
tled in  churches  which  they  had  organized.  The  whole  num- 
ber -of  missionaries  employed  by  this  society  is  277. 

To  prepare  the  way  fora  change  in  the  mode  of  conducting 
our  home  missionary  operations,  the  Missionary  Society  of  Con- 
necticut, in  1830,  ceased  to  solicit  annual  contributions  from 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


169 


the  churches — though  still  acting  independently  in  expending 
the  income  of  its  Permanent  Fund,  and  such  legacies  as  now 
and  then  corne  into  its  treasury. 

MISSIONARIES  EMPLOYED  BY  THE    MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF    CONNECTI- 
CUT FROM  1798.* 


Rev.  Walter  King, 
Rev.  Amos  Bassett, 
Rev.  Publius  V.  Booge, 
John  Spencer, 
Alexander  Gillet, 
Andrew  Judson, 
George  Colton, 
Seth  Williston, 
Thomas  Punderson, 
Henry  Chapman, 
Salmon  King, 
Sylvester  Dana, 
Aaron  Kinne, 
Royal  Phelps, 
Jedediah  Bushnell, 
Holland  Weeks, 
Marshfield  Steele, 
Silas  Hubbard, 
Amasa  Jerome, 
William  Storrs, 
David  Bacon, 
Robert  Porter, 
David  HuntiiigtoM, 
Josiah  B.  Andrews, 
Joseph  Badger, 
Jeremiah  Hallock, 
Abraham  Scott, 
Job  Swift, 


New  York  and  Vermont. 
New  Hampshire. 
New  York. 
New  York. 

New  York. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 

New  York. 

Xew  York. 

Yew  York. 

Vermont. 

Pennsylvania,  (probably.) 

New  York  and  Vermont. 

New  York. 

Vermont. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Vermont. 

Indians. 

New  York. 

Vermont. 

Pennsylvania  and  New  York. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve  and  Vermont. 

Western  Reserve. 

Vermont. 


*  It  was  intended  that  the  names  of  the  missionaries  in  this  list  should  be  arranged 
in  the  order  of  their  appointment.  Only  an  approximation  to  chronological  order 
however  has  been  attained,  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  list  in  this  respect 
is  very  defective.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  also  that  the  specific  dates  of  the  commis- 
sions given  to  the  missionaries  cannot  be  added ;  but  to  do  this  would  require  a  review 
of  the  Records  of  the  Board,  and  of  the  Committee  of  Missions,  the  annual  narra- 
tives of  mishions,  the  books  of  accounts,  and  to  a  great  extent,  the  reports  of  mission- 
aries, from  the  beginning.  This  would  be  " renovare  dolorem"  for  which  time  is 
wanting. 

23 


170 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


Simon  Waterman, 

Thomas  Barr, 

Hezekiah  May, 

Ezekiel  J.  Chapman, 

James  W.  Woodward, 

Daniel  Higgins, 

Solomon  Morgan, 

William  Wick, 

John  Willard, 

William  F.  Miller, 

Samuel  Leonard, 

Samuel  P.  Robbins, 

Thomas  Robbins, 

Thomas  Williams, 

Ira  Hart, 

Calvin  Ingalls, 

Timothy  Harris, 

Oliver  Wetmore, 

Ebenezer  Kingsbury, 

Eli  Hyde, 

William  Graves, 

Israel  Day, 

Calvin  Chapin, 

Joseph  Vaill, 

Asa  Carpenter, 

Ebenezer  J.  Leavenworth, 

John  Hough, 

Israel  Brainerd, 

Archibald  Bassett, 

Aaron  Cleveland, 

Jonathan  Leslie, 

John  Denison, 

David  Harrower, 

Mark  Mead, 

Nathan  B.  Darrow, 

Joel  Byington 

Silas  L.  Bingham,      ^ 

Enoch  Burt, 

Erastus  Ripley, 

Chauncey  Lee, 

Daniel  Waldo, 

Joshua  Beer, 

Samuel  Sweezey, 

Samuel  Baldridge, 


New  York. 

Western  Reserve. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 

Western  Reserve. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Vermont. 

Western  Reserve. 

Vermont. 

New  York. 

Vermont. 

Ohio. 

Western  Reserve. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Vermont,  New  York  and  Penn. 

Ohio. 

Vermont. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 

New  York. 

New  York. 
Vermont. 
Western  Reserve. 
New  York. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 
New  York. 

Vermont. 

New  York  and  Pensylvania. 

New  York. 

New  York  and  Vermont. 
Western  Reserve. 

Vermont. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 

New  York. 

Western  Reserve  and  Ind. 

Vermont. 

Vermont. 

Western  Reserve. 

Vt.  and  N.  Y.,  Penn.  and  Ohio. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 

Western  Reserve. 

New  York. 

Illinois. 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


171 


Oliver  Aver, 
Reuben  Porter, 
Abner  Benedict,  Jr. 
Lemuel  Ilaynes, 
Eleazer  Fairbanks, 
Joseph  Avery, 
John  Bascom, 
James  Boyd, 
Salmon  King, 
Hubbel  Loomis, 
Elihu  Mason, 
Israel  Shailer, 
Giles  H.  Cowles, 
Cyrus  Nichols, 
William  Lockwood, 
Alvan  Coe,  • 
John  F.  Bliss, 
Daniel  G.  Sprague, 
Joseph  M.  Sadd, 
Asahel  Gaylord, 
Ammi  Nichols, 
James  Parker, 
Asa  Johnson, 
Benj.  F.  Hoxey, 
Jonathan  A.  Woodruff, 
Caleb  Pitkin, 
Henry  Frost, 
Worthington  Wright, 
Ebenezer  Fitch, 
John  Matthews, 
Simeon  Parmelee, 
John  Lawton, 
Samuel  Royce, 
Alfred  H.  Betts, 
Joel  F.  Benedict, 
Caleb  Alexander, 
Daniel  Miller, 
John  Field. 
Nathan  Waldo, 
David  H.  WiUiston, 
Lucas  Hart, 
Moses  Elliot, 
Jonathan  Hovey, 
Ephraim  T.  Woodruff, 


New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 
Pennsylvania. 
New  York. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 
New  York. 

Vermont,  New  York  and  Penn. 
Pennsylvania. 
Western  Reserve. 
Vermont  and  New  York. 
New  York. 
New  York. 
Western  Reserve. 
Western  Reserve. 
Missouri. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
Western  Reserve. 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 
West  of  Alleghanies. 
Missouri. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 
Vermont. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 
Missouri. 
Missouri. 
Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 
New  York. 
Pennsylvania. 
New  York. 
Missouri. 

Vermont  and  New  York. 
Vermont. 
Louisiana. 
Western  Reserve. 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 
New  York. 
Western  Reserve. 
Western  Reserve. 
New  Hampshire  and  Vermont. 
Vermont. 
Pennsylvania. 
Vermont. 
Vermont. 
Western  Reserve. 


172 


Home   Missions  in  Connecticut. 


Nathaniel  Cobb, 
John  Seward, 
Flavel  S.  Gaylord, 
M.  M.  York, 
Samuel  J.  Mills, 
Orange  Lyman, 
Orin  Fowler, 
William  Shedd, 
John  F.  Schernferhorn, 
David  D.  Field, 
Joel  Davis, 
George  C.  Wood, 
Elias  Cornelius, 
Harvey  Coe, 
Oliver  Hill, 
Asaph  Morgan, 
Abiel  Jones, 
Joel  Goodell, 
Simeon  Woodruff^ 
Simeon  Snow, 
Eli  Hyde, 
Charles  B.  Storrs, 
Harvey  Coe, 
Isaac  Reed, 
Joseph  Treat, 
Comfort  Williams, 
Orin  Catlin, 
Josiah  Hopkins, 
David  M.  Smith, 
William  Hanford, 
Ard  Hoyt, 
Hezekiah  Hull, 
John  F.  Crow, 
William  Williams, 
Eliphalet  Austin,  Jr. 
William  Wisner, 
Ahab  Jincks, 
Chester  Colton, 
Amos  Chase, 
William  R.  Gould, 
Warren  Swift, 
Luther  Humphrey, 
Justin  Parsons, 


AVt'stern  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Pennsylvania  and  New  York. 

Mississippi  Valley. 

New  York. 

Indiana. 

New  Orleans. 

Mississippi  Valley. 

New  York. 

Vermont. 

Missouri. 

Louisiana. 

Western  Reserve. 

Pennsylvania  and  New  York. 

Vermont  and  New  Hampshire. 

Western  Reserve. 

Missouri. 

Western  Reserve. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Kentucky  and  Indiana. 

Western  Reserve. 

New  York. 

Illinois. 

Vermont. 

New  York. 

Western  Reserve. 

Pennsylvania. 

Louisiana. 

Indiana. 

New  York. 

Western  Reserve. 

Pennsylvania. 

Indiana. 

New  York. 

Pennsylvania. 

Ohio. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Vermont. 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


173 


Timothy  Flint, 
Daniel  W.  Lathrop, 
Daniel  C.  Banks, 
Salmon  Giddings, 
Matthew  Taylor, 
Amasa  Loomis, 
Cyrus  Kingsbury, 
John  Sanford, 
Dexter  Witter, 
Stephen  Mason, 
Stephen  W.  Burritt, 
Hervey  Lyon, 
Jason  Olds, 
Herman  Halsey, 
Henry  Cowles, 
Dewey  Whitney, 
Luther  G.  Bingham, 
Prince  Hawes, 
William  Fisher, 
Joseph  H.  Breck, 
Horace  Smith, 
Lot  B.  Sullivan, 
David  Smith, 
Eli  Smith, 
Edward  Hollister, 
Elbridge  G.  Howe, 
Daniel  Gould, 
Edson  Hart, 
Jesse  Townsend, 
Isaac  W.  Warner, 
William  Boies, 
Luke  Wood, 
William  W.  Niles, 
Myron  Tracy, 
Randolph  Stone, 
Lyman  WThitney, 
Ludovicus  Robbins, 
David  C.  Proctor, 
Noah  Smith, 
Caleb  Burbank, 
Alfred  Wright, 
Asa  Johnson, 
Nathaniel  Cobb, 


Ohio  and  Missouri. 
Western  Reserve. 
Ohio  and  Kentucky. 
Missouri. 
Ohio. 
Ohio. 

Tennessee. 

Virginia  and  Tennessee. 
Western  Reserve. 
Kentucky. 
New  York. 
Western  Reserve. 
Western  Reserve. 
Kentucky. 
Illinois. 
Kentucky. 
Ohio. 

New  York. 
New  York. 
Western  Reserve. 
Missouri  and  Illinois. 
Western  Reserve. 
New  York. 

Kentucky,  Indiana  and  Illinois. 
Illinois  and  Missouri. 
Illinois. 

Illinois  and  Missouri. 
Western  Reserve. 
Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 
Ohio. 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 
Tennessee. 
Western  Reserve. 
Wrestern  Reserve. 
Kentucky. 
Western  Reserve. 
Illinois. 
New  York. 
Western  Reserve. 
Missouri. 
Missouri. 
Western  Reserve. 


174 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


Benjamin  Fenn, 
Thomas  H.  Rood. 
William  Johnson, 
O.  Parker, 
Gideon  C.  Clark, 
Jonathan  Sampson, 
E.  I.  Montague, 
L.  H.  Parker, 
Benj.  Walker, 
James  Langhead, 
John  L.  Seymour, 
John  Wilcox, 
J.  B.  Parlin, 
Franklin  Maginnis, 
Joel  Talcott, 
Ansel  R.  Clark, 
Calvin  Porter, 
Z.  K.  Hawley, 
Eldad  Barber, 
Nelson  Slater, 
George  Schlosser, 
Warren  C.  Fiske, 
Edward  C.  Betts, 
A.  G.  Hibbard, 
Anson  Gleason, 
Octavius  Fitch, 
Erastus  Cole, 
D.  R.  Miller, 
William  Whittlesey, 
James  Nail, 
Luther  Shaw, 
Ithamar  Pillsbury, 
S.  S.  Brown, 
Sherman  B.  Canfield, 
Christian  Sans, 
John  W.  Beecher, 
Mark  Gould, 
Elery  Curtis, 
Louis  F.  Lane, 
Josephus  Morton, 
M.  P.  Kinney, 
Jonathan  W.  Goodell, 
H.  H.  Morgan, 


Western  Reserve. 

Wisconsin. 

Western  Reserve. 

Michigan. 

Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 

Wisconsin. 

Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Wisconsin. 

Western  Reserve. 

Illinois. 

Mohegans. 

Pennsylvania. 

Western  Reserve. 

Illinois. 

Illinois. 

Michigan. 

Western  Reserve. 

Illinois. 

Michigan. 

Western  Reserve. 

Wisconsin. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Wisconsin. 

Western  Reserve. 

Minnesota. 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


175 


Solomon  Stevens, 
Philip  Everleth, 
Enos  H.  Rice, 
Hiram  Smith, 
A.  L.  Leonard, 

E.  N.  Bartlett, 
Charles  Morgan, 
Urban  Palmer, 
Benson  C.  Baldwin, 
Frederic  H.  Brown, 
William  Carter, 
William  Kirby, 
Thomas  Kiggs, 
William  F.  Vaill, 
Samuel  Lee, 
Xenophon  Betts, 

F.  E.  Lord, 
W.  T.  Bartle, 
Aaron  K.  Wright, 
Stephen  C.  Hickok, 
George  D.  Young, 
J.  IL  Dill, 
Warren  Taylor, 
William  Wolcott, 
O.  Hosford, 

M.  W.  Fail-field, 
J.  II.  Payne, 
W.  B.  Atkinson, 
Joseph  C.  Cooper, 
J.  O.  Knapp, 
J.  A.  R.  Rogers, 
Burdett  Hart. 


Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Michigan. 

Western  Reserve. 

Iowa. 

Michigan  and  Iowa. 

AVisconsin. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Illinois. 

Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 

Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Michigan. 

Illinois. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

Western  Reserve. 

New  York. 

Western  Reserve. 

Michigan. 

Michigan. 

Illinois  and  Michigan. 

Wisconsin. 

Iowa. 

Iowa. 

New  York. 

Illinois. 

Minnesota. 


DOMESTIC    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY    OF    CONNECTICUT. 

For  a  long  period  after  the  settlement  of  the  colony  of  Con- 
necticut, there  was  within  its  borders  no  call  for  that  form 
of  home  missions  which  consists  in  aiding  existing  churches. 
The  civil  government,  which  was  virtually  a  home  missiona- 
ry society,  provided  against  such  a  contingency,  by  refusing  to 
incorporate  a  town,  unless  there  were  inhabitants  enough  to 
support  a  minister — by  taxing  for  the  support  of  religious  as 
well  as  other  institutions — by  allowing  winter  privileges  to 


176  Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 

those  too  far  from  the  place  of  worship  to  attend  meeting  con- 
veniently at  that  season  of  the  year — by  fixing  the  limits  of 
new  parishes  when  a  division  became  necessary,  and  suffering 
no  church  to  be  formed  "  without  consent  of  the  general  court, 
and  approbation  of  neighboring  elders." 

At  length,  howeyer.  from  a  variety  of  causes  which  this  is 
not  the  place  to  detail,  the  churches  became  weakened,  and  it 
required  some  outward  impulse  to  secure  their  existence.  In 
1783,  the  "  Eastern  Association  of  New  London  County  "  pro- 
posed to  the  General  Association,  sitting  in  Lyme,  the  question 
— "  What  shall  be  done  respecting  our  destitute  churches  and 
congregations  whose  re-settlement  in  the  enjoyment  of  Gospel 
ordinances  is  improbable  ?"  The  General  Association  resolved 
in  substance,  at  its  next  meeting,  that  a  church  guilty  of  "a 
faulty  neglect  to  settle  a  minister" — if  on  conference  and  ad- 
monition it  continued  its  neglect — should  be  cut  off  from  the 
consociation  ; — a  measure  which  would  rather  aggravate  than 
cure  the  disease.  The  evil  continued  to  grow  in  magnitude, 
until  it  was  said,  in  1814,  in  a  sermon  which  had  no  small 
share  in  hastening  the  application  of  a  remedy — "  There  are,  in 
this  state,  districts  as  far  from  heaven — and  without  help,  as 
hopeless  of  heaven — as  the  pagans  of  Hindoostan  and  China.*" 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Association  in  1815,  Rev. 
Messrs.  Bassett,  Nelson,  and  James  Buchanan,  the  last  named,  a 
delegate  from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  the  United  States — were  chosen  a  committee  to  report  on 
the  request  of  the  New  London  County  Association,  for  the 
formation  of  a  Domestic  Missionary  Society. f  The  result  was 


*  Beecher's  Sermon  on  Waste  Places  in  Connecticut.  Among  the  means  suggested  in 
this  sermon,  for  building  up  these  wastes  is  the  formation  of  a  "general  society  for 
the  special  purpose." 

t  "  When  I  was  ordained  here,  (New  London,)  in  1806,  I  was  the  only  pastor  of  a 
Congregational  church,  on  a  territory  in  Connecticut,  of  fifty  miles  in  length  by 
twelve  in  width.  Eleven  large  contiguous  parishes,  stretching  from  Sterling  to  the 
sea-board  on  the  line  of  Rhode  Island — thence  to  the  western  boundrey  of  East 
Lyma ;  thence  northward  to  the  southern  line  of  Colchester,  were,  except  New 
London,  destitute  of  Congregational  ministers.  In  1808,  the  Rev.  Ira  Hart  took 
charge  of  the  church  in  Stonington,  and  in  1811,  the  Rev.  Timothy  Tattle  be- 
came the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Groton — an  event  better  than  our  hope.  In 
all  the  residue  of  the  wide  waste,  nothing  indicated  resuscitation  or  improvement. 
Wealth  enough  there  was ;  people  enough  there  were ;  a  meeting  house  stood  in  every 
parish  ;  but  men  of  energy,  influence,  and  device,  to  step  forth  and  regain  the  minis- 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut.  •    177 

the  choice  of  a  committee  to  consider  the  subject  and  report  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  body.  On  their  report,  at  its  next 
meeting  in  New  Haven,  it  was  resolved,  unanimously,  to  form 
"a  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  for  Connecticut  and  its 
vicinity." 

At  their  first  meeting,  the  directors  voted  that  17  churches 
of  our  denomination  in  this  state  needed  aid.  Six  more  were 
soon  added  to  the  list,  while  others  seem  not  to  have  had  energy 
enough  to  attempt  recovery.  Annual  contributions  were  taken 
up,  in  September  and  October.  By  circulars  and  other  meas- 
ures, the  directors  endeavored  to  awaken  interest  in  the  object 
— but  the  receipts  of  the  Society  seldom  exceeded  $1500,  and 
sometimes  were  less  than  $1000,  annually, — a  sum  entirely 
inadequate  to  the  wants  of  the  feeble  churches.  The  whole 
amount  of  contributions,  from  1816  to  1830,  was  $20,386.69. 

During  the  14  years  of  its  independent  action,  50  churches 
sought  its  aid.  Two  or  three  of  these  are  extinct,  and  but  for 
its  aid,  others  now  self-sustaining  might  have  shared  the  same 
fate. 

In  1831,  this  Society  became  auxiliary  to  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society.  The  terms  of  union  secure  to  the 
Auxiliary  the  control  of  the  raising  and  application  of  funds, 
the  selection  and  appointment  of  missionaries  within  this 
state — and  the  right  to  nominate  for  appointment  by  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  of  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society, 
missionaries  out  of  the  state,  to  the  amount  of  its  surplus 
funds  ;  such  missionaries  to  be  commissioned  by  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,  and  to  report  to  the  Auxiliary 
whenever  required  by  its  directors. 

The  result  of  this  union  has  been  eminently  happy.  The 
treasury  of  the  Auxiliary  has  never  wanted  means  to  minister 


try,  were  not  to  be  found.  The  few  pastors,  who  were  at  length  established  on  the 
outposts  of  this  waste,  were  impatient  of  this  rapid  and  constant  degeneracy  toward 
a  state  of  heathenism,  in  a  land  of  Christianity.  At  the  old  parsonage  of  this  parish, 
one  evening  in  1815,  the  Rev.  Ira  Hart  and  myself  conversed  on  the  subject,  and  form- 
ed a  project  for  a  county  missionary  society,  to  restore  the  dilapidated  churches  and 
societies.  The  project,  after  a  few  weeks,  was  referred  to  the  association  ;  who,  after 
consultation  resolved  to  forward  a  position  to  the  General  Association  of  the  State, 
soon  to  meet  at  Farmington,  that  a  Hotne  Missionary  Society  might  be  instituted  fot ' 
repairing  the  waste  places  of  Connecticut  and  i^s  vicinity." — McEwerts  Half-Centdh/ 
Sermon. 

24 


178 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


to  the  necesities  of  our  own  churches,  and  for  liberal  supplies 
to  the  destitute  in  other  portions  of  the  field.  Very  little  has 
been  expended  for  foreign  agencies — the  services  of  local  pas- 
tors and  churches  having  proved  sufficient  to  place  Connecticut 
among  the  foremost,  in  proportion  to  its  population,  resources 
and  number  of  churches,  in  the  amount  devoted  to  home 
missions. 

The  receipts  by  the  treasury  of  the  Auxiliary  to  June  1, 
1859,  are  $176,785.91.  The  treasury  of  the  A.  H.  M.  S.  has 
received  directly  from  Connecticut,  $342,427.95 — making  in 
the  whole,  as  the  contribution  of  our  churches  and  congrega- 
tions to  Home  Missions,  since  the  union  of  the  Domestic  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  Connecticut,  with  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society,  $519,213.86,  of  which  $401,791.57 
were  for  missions  out  of  the  state. 

The  Auxiliary  has  aided  about  80  churches  in  this  state,  of 
which  42  became  self-supporting  under  its  patronage.  Three  or 
four  of  the  number  have  found  it  necessary  to  re-apply  for  aid, 
which  "will  be  only  temporarily  needed,  it  is  hoped,  except  in 
a  single  case.  It  has  aided  several  other  congregations  where 
no  church  has  been  organized. 

CHURCHES  AND  SOCIETIES  AIDED  BY  THE   DOMESTIC  AND    AUXILIARY 


MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES  OF  CONNECTICUT. 


Begun.  Ended. 

North  Stonington, 

1816   1818 

West  Stafford, 

East  Lyme, 

1816 

Milton, 

Chesterfield 

1816   1833 

Bridgewater, 

Voluntown  and 

East  Franklin, 

Sterling, 

1816 

Westfield, 

Poquonnoc, 

1816 

Newtown, 

Middlefield, 

1816 

Chaplin, 

Ridgebury, 

1816   1836 

Seymour, 

Bethel, 

1816   1842 

Salem, 

New  Stratford, 

Naugatuck, 

(Monroe,) 

1816   1846 

Eastford, 

Northfield  in  Weston, 

1816   1824 

Eastbury, 

Greenwich, 

1816   1817 

Darien, 

Oxford, 

1816   1837 

New  Fairfield, 

Union, 

1816 

Willimantic, 

Stafford,  (East,) 

1816   1836 

West  Suffield, 

Begun. 

1816 
1816 
1817 
1817 
1817 
1817 
1817 
1817 
1817 
1833 
1817 
1822 
1824 
1825 
1827 
1827 


Ended. 
1852 

1818 
1833 

1818 


1834 

1858 
1836 
1845 
1839 
1854 


Home  Missions  in  Connecticut. 


179 


Bozrahville, 

1827  1846 

Windham, 

1836 

Hamden,  (E.  Plains) 

1827  1846 

South  Glastenbury, 

1837 

Westford, 

1828  1856 

West  Hartland, 

1839 

Exeter, 

1827   1853 

Col'd  Church,  New 

East  Hampton, 

1828   1845 

If  :iven, 

1840 

North  Stamford, 

1828  1829 

Groton, 

1841   1848 

Turkey  Hills, 

1829   1857 

South  Canaan, 

1842   1843 

Jewett  City, 

1829  1855 

Hitchcockville, 

1842 

Andover, 

1829  1836 

Abington, 

1844  1845 

Killingworth, 

1829  1830 

Sherman, 

1844  1845 

North  Madison, 

1831 

Rainbow, 

1844  1850 

Grassy  Hill, 

1831 

Windsor  Locks, 

1845   1852 

North  Mansfield, 

1824 

Middle  Haddam, 

1845 

Burlington, 

1831 

Kensington, 

1845  1846 

Mohegan  Indians. 

1832   1834 

East  Hartland, 

1847 

Wolcottville, 

1832   1835 

North  Lyme, 

1847 

Wapping, 

1832   1860 

Putnam, 

1847  1857 

Millington, 

1832   1833 

Ashford, 

1850 

Greenville, 

1832   1839 

Barkhamsted, 

1849 

New  F  airfield, 

1832   1845 

Daysville, 

1849  1850 

South  Killingly, 

1832   1856 

German  Mission  in 

Hadlyme, 

1832 

Connecticut, 

1848 

Tariftville, 

1832  1843 

Stafford  Springs, 

1850  1858 

Unionville, 

1833   1852 

Ansonia, 

1850  1851 

West  Avon, 

1834  1848 

Broad  Brook, 

1850 

Col'd  Cong.  Church, 

Staffordville, 

1852 

Hartford, 

1834 

Danbury,  2d  Church, 

1852   1854 

West  Haven, 

1834  1843 

Essex, 

1852  1853 

Long  Soc.,  Preston, 

1833   1850 

Wauregan, 

1855 

Bolton, 

1834 

West  Woodstock, 

1854 

Westville, 

1835    1855 

Northfield, 

1855   1856 

Franklin, 

1835   1840 

Falls  Village, 

1859 

North  Goshen, 

1835   1845 

With  regard  to  some  churches  on  the  list,  it  is  impossible  to  present  nil  the  facts  in 
the  case  in  a  brief  table.  For  example,  some  to  whom  aid  was  extended  in  1816  are 
still  on  the  list,  though  they  have  not  been  aided  every  year  since.  In  some 
cases  there  may  have  been  half  a  dozen  breaks  in  the  chain  of  aid.  For  perfect  accu- 
racy in  individual  churches,  it  will  be  necessary  to  consult  the  original  records. 


GRADUATES  OF  YALE  COLLEGE  WHO  HAVE 
SERVED  AS  FOREIGN  MISSIONARIES. 


MISSIONARIES  OP  THE  AMERICAN  BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS  FOR 
FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 


GRAU. 

1809,  Benjamin  C.  Meigs, 
1816,  Isaac  Bird, 

Asa  Thurston, 
1819,  Elnathan  Gridley, 
1821,  D  wight  Baldwin,  M.  D. 

Josiah  Brewer, 

Joseph  Goodrich, 

Eli  Smith, 

1826,  James  T.  Dickinson, 

1827,  John  M.  S.  Perry, 

1828,  Edwin  Stevens, 

1829,  George  H.  Apthorp, 
John  F.  Lanneau, 

1831,  George  Champion, 
Peter  Parker,  M.  D., 

1832,  Henry  A.  DeForest,  M.  D., 

1833,  Samuel  Wolcott, 

1834,  Henry  S.  G.  French, 
Samuel  G.  Whittlesey, 

1835,  Charles  S.  Sherman, 

1837,  Azariah  Smith,  M.  D., 

1838,  David  T.  Stoddard, 
1840,  Timothy  D  wight  Hunt, 

Charles  S.  Shelton,  M.  D., 

1842,  Lewis  Grout, 
Seth  B.  Stone, 

1843,  William  A.  Benton, 

1844,  John  W.  Dulles, 
Henry  Kinney, 
Charles  Little, 
William  A.  Macy, 
Samuel  D.  Marsh, 

1845,  Oliver  Crane, 

1846,  William  B.  Capron, 


Ceylon. 
Western  Asia. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Western  Asia. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Western  Asia. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
Western  Asia. 
Singapore. 
Ceylon. 
China. 
Ceylon. 
Western  Asia. 
South  Africa. 
China. 

Western  Asia. 
Western  Asia. 
Siam. 
Ceylon. 
Western  Asia. 
Western  Asia. 
Western  Asia. 
Sandwich  Islands. 
India. 

South  Africa. 
South  Africa. 
Western  Asia. 
India. 

Sandwich  Islands. 
India. 
China. 

South  Africa. 
Western  Asia. 
India. 


Foreign  Missionaries.  181 

1847,  Andrew  T.  Pratt,  M.  D.,  Western  Asia. 

1848,  William  Aitchison,  China. 
Henry  Blodget,  China. 

1849,  Augustus  Walker,  Western  Asia. 

1850,  Benjamin  Parsons,  Western  Asia. 

1851,  Henry  H.  Jessup,  Western  Asia. 
Julius  Y.  Leonard,  Western  Asia. 

1853,  William  Frederick  Arms,  Western  Asia. 
Hiram  Bingham,  Jr.,  Micronesia. 
Charles  Harding,  India. 

1854,  William  Hutchison,  Turkey. 

1855,  Henry  N.  Cobb,  Kurdistan. 

MISSIONARIES    OF   THE   PROTESTANT   EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

1825,  Thomas  S.  Savage,  M.  DM  West  Africa. 

1831,  Wrn.  I.  Kip,  Mis'y  Bishop,  California. 

1850,  Robert  Smith,  Western  Africa. 

MISSIONARIES   AMONG   THE   NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 

1720,  Jonathan  Edwards,  Stockbridge  Indians. 

1729,  John  Sergeant,  Stockbridge  Indians. 

1746,  John  Brainerd,  New  York  Indians. 

1806,  William  F.  Vaill.  Osages. 

MISSIONARY    OF   THE   DUTCH    REFORMED   BOARD. 

1853,  Samuel  R.  Brown,  Japan. 


THEOLOGICAL  DEPARTMENT  OF  YALE  COLLEGE. 

We  have  no  knowledge  of  a  time  in  the  history  of  Yale 
College  when  there  were  not  resident  graduates  preparing  for 
the  ministry.  From  the  year  1755,  this  class  of  pupils  were  in 
the  habit  of  pursuing  their  studies  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Professor  of  Divinity.  By  Dr.  Dwight  and  by  his  predecessors 
Doctors  Daggett  and  Wales,  several  hundred  of  the  Alumni  of 
the  college  were  educated  for  the  pastoral  office.  Among  the 
persons  who  studied  theology  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Dwight,  may  be  named,  for  example,  Rev.  Moses  Stuart,  who 
was  converted  in  the  revival  of  1801,  united  with  the 
College  Church  in  1803,  and  was  the  first  Professor  of  Sacred 
Literature  at  Andover.  As  the  need  of  a  more  extensive  course 
of  theological  study  came  to  be  felt,  Dr.  Dwight  began  to  cherish 
the  purpose  of  increasing  the  means  of  instruction  thus  fur- 
nished. When  the  project  of  a  seminary  at  Andover  was  un- 
der discussion  in  Massachusetts,  his  advice  was  sought  by  Dr. 
Morse  of  Charlestown,  and  Dr.  Spring  of  Newburyport,  who 
visited  New  Haven  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  him.  He 
expressed  to  them  his  warm  approval  of  the  proposed  underta- 
king, at  the  same  time  assuring  them  that  he  had  long  been  de- 
sirous of  providing  a  more  complete  and  systematic  course  of 
theological  instruction  in  Yale  College  ;  and  that  he  should 
embrace  the  earliest  opportunity  of  carrying  out,  in  this  partic- 
ular, what  he  deemed  to  be  the  design  of  its  founders.  After 
the  interview  with  these  gentlemen,  he  stated  confidentially  to 
his  young  friend  and  amanuensis,  Mr  Taylor,  (the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  Taylor,)  that  his  eldest  son,  Mr.  Timothy  Dwight,  a  mer- 
chant of  New  Haven,  had  invested  a  sum  of  money  in  a  bu- 
siness enterprise,  which,  with  the  profits  arising  from  it,  was 
to  be  ultimately  given  for  the  object  above  mentioned.  In 
1822,  fifteen  young  men,  graduates  of  the  college,  laid  before 
the  faculty  a  petition  that  they  might  be  received  as  a  theolo- 
gical class  for  the  ensuing  year.  This  petition  was  made  at 
the  suggestion  of  Rev.  Professor  Fitch,  and  to  him  belongs  in 
no  small  measure  the  credit  of  its  success.  He  addressed  to 
the  corporation  an  able  argument  on  the  subject. 


Theological  Department  of  Yale  College.  183 

The  question  was  thus  distinctly  presented  whether  Yale 
College  should  cease  to  be  a  school  for  theological  education. 
The  faculty  considering  the  original  design  of  the  pious  found- 
ers of  the  institution,  and  the  importance  of  maintaining  its 
dignity  and  religious  usefulness,  determined  to  recommend  to 
the  corporation  to  establish  a  theological  department  upon  an 
improved  and  permanent  basis.  At  this  time  Mr.  Dwight  came 
forward  with  a  subscription  of  $5.000  towards  an  endowment 
for  a  Professor  of  Didactic  Theology.  Had  he  not  been  pre- 
vented by  misfortunes  in  trade,  he  would  have  fulfilled  his  in- 
tention of  greatly  increasing  his  first  donation.  The  sum  of 
$20,000  was  collected  for  the  professorship.  This  was  accep- 
ted by  the  corporation,  who  proceeded  to  establish  the  Theo- 
logical Department,  grounding  their  action  on  the  fact  that  "  one 
of  the  principal  objects  of  the  pious  founders  of  this  college, 
was  the  education  of  pious  young  men  for  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry." The  corporation  likewise  voted  "  that  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  high  sense  which  this  board  entertains  of  the  dis- 
tinguished merits  of  the  Rev.  Timothy  Dwight,  D.  D.,  late 
President  of  this  college,  and  of  his  eminent  services  and  use- 
fulness while  in  office,  the  professorship  this  day  established, 
shall  take  his  name,  and  be  styled  the  Dwight  Professorship  of 
Didactic  Theology."  The  Rev.  Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  then 
Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  New  Haven,  who  had  been  a  be- 
loved pupil  of  Dr.  Dwight,  was  elected  to  fill  the  office.  In- 
struction in  Hebrew  was  first  given  by  Professor  Kingsley,  the 
Professor  of  Languages  in  College,  and  in  the  Greek  of  the  New 
Testament  by  Dr.  Fitch,  Professor  of  Divinity.  Subsequently, 
in  1824,  Mr.  Josiah  W.  Gibbs  was  invited  to  act  as  Professor 
of  Sacred  Literature.  The  Professorship  in  that  department 
was  instituted  in  1826,  and  Mr.  Gibbs  was  then  elected  Profes- 
sor. The  Rev.  Dr.  Goodrich  was  afterwards  made  Professor  of 
the  Pastoral  charge,  and  Dr.  Fitch  retained  his  connection  with 
the  Seminary,  as  instructor  in  Homiletics.  The  death  of  Dr. 
Taylor  occurred  in  1858,  and  that  of  Dr.  Goodrich  in  1860. 
Mr.  Timothy  Dwight,  grandson  of  President  Dwight,  was  made 
an  Assistant  Professor  of  Sacred  Literature,  in  the  same  year. 

The  number  of  students  who  have  received  instruction  in 
the  theological  school  since  its  re-organization  is  about  700. 


184  Theological  Department  of  Yale  College. 

FACULTY. 

Presidents* 

ELECTED.  RETIRED. 

1822.         Rev.  Jeremiah  Day,  D.D.,  LL.D.    1846. 
1840.         Rev.  Theo.  D.  Woolsey,  D.D.,  LL.D.. 

Livingston  Professors  of  Divinity. 

1755.  Naphtali  Daggett,  D.D.  1780. 

1782.  Samuel  Wales  ,D.  D.  1794. 

1805.  Timothy  Dwight,  D.  D.  1817. 

1817.  Eleazar  T.  Fitch,  D.  D.  1852. 

1854.  George  P.  Fisher. 

Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 
1777.  Ezra  Stiles,  D.  D.  1795. 

Dicight  Professor  of  Didactic  Theology. 
1822.  f  Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  D.  D.  1858. 

Professor  of  Sacred  Literature. 
1824.  Josiah  W.  Gibbs,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  the  Pastoral  Care. 
1839.  Chauncey  A.  Goodrich,  D.  D.   1860. 

Assistant  Professor  of  Sacred  Literature. 
1858.  Timothy  Dwight. 


*  According  to  the  present  organization,  the  President  of  the  College  is  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Theological  Faculty. 

t  Since  the  death  of'Dr.  Taylor,  the  duties  of  this  professorship  have  been  dis- 
charged by  Rev.  Noah  Porter,  D.  D.,  Clark  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  and  Meta- 
physics in  the  Academical  Department. 


THEOLOGICAL  INSTITUTE  OF  CONNECTICUT. 


BY  REV.    CHARLES   HYDE.  ELLINGTON. 


The  establishment  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  East 
Windsor  Hill  now  forms  part  of  the  history  of  Congregation- 
alism in  Connecticut.  Whatever  difference  of  opinion  there 
may  he  as  to  its  expediency,  the  facts  connected  with  its  estab- 
lishment cannot  be  altered  ;  and  simply  as  matters  of  history 
they  are  here  presented. 

This  Seminary  originated,  as  its  friends  have  no  wish  to  dis- 
guise, principally,  in  the  solicitude  felt  at  the  time  by  many,  es- 
pecially of  the  Congregational  ministers  of  this  state,  in  ref- 
erence to  certain  doctrines  taught,  and  the  mode  of  instruction 
and  principles  of  interpretation  adopted,  at  New  Haven.  It 
seemed  to  them  that  the  sound  doctrines  of  New  England  Cal- 
vinism, as  taught  by  Edwards,  Bellamy,  Smalley,  and  Dwight, 
were  in  danger  of  being  undermined  and  swept  away.  And 
they  felt  constrained  to  devise,  if  possible,  some  judicious  and 
practicable,  method  to  preserve  and  perpetuate  them. 

As  early  as  January  1833.  at  the  suggestion  and  earnest  re- 
quest of  the  venerable  Dr.  Perkins,  of  West  Hartford,  a  confer- 
ence of  ministers  on  the  state  of  the  churches  was  held  at 
Hartford.  Invitations  had  been  sent  to  all  the  associations  of 
the  state,  requesting  them  to  send  each  two  pastors.  A  few, 
also,  in  the  nearest  portions  of  Massachusetts  were  invited. 
About  twenty  only  were  present. 

On  invitation  of  a  committee  appointed  at  this  meeting, 
another  was  held  at  East  Windsor  on  September  10th,  1S33, 
for  consultation,  and  such  action  as  should  seem  to  be  desira- 
ble. About  forty  ministers  were  present.  Two  days  were 
spent  in  prayerful  deliberation,  resulting  in  the  determination 
to  establish  a  new  Theological  Seminary,  provided  a  subscrip- 
tion of  twenty  thousand  dollars  could  be  obtained.  These 
brethren  formed  themselves  into  a  Pastoral  Union,  adopted  a 
constitution  and  creed  as  the  basis  of  their  organization,  and  ap- 

25 


186  Theological  Institute  of  Connecticut. 

pointed  a  board  of  trustees.  They  then  opened  a  subscrip- 
tion upon  the  spot,  and  the  twenty  thousand  dollars  were  se- 
cured in  the  January  following. 

The  wish  and  design  of  these  ministers  was  not  only  to 
check  the  prevailing  tendencies  to  error,  but,  as  far  as  human 
means  could  avail,  to  guard  against  future  lapses.  Hence  they 
not  only  adopted  what  they  considered  a  sound  creed,  to  which 
the  professors  in  the  new  institution  should  be  required  to  give 
their  assent,  renewing  it  yearly,  but  sought  to  establish  a  sem- 
inary that  should  be  in  closer  connection  with  the  churches 
than  any  then  existing  in  New  England.  The  trustees  are 
elected  by  the  "  Pastoral  Union,"  and  amenable,  directly,  and 
through  them  the  professors,  to  that  body. 

"  The  growing  demand  for  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
rapid  increase  of  theological  students,  the  liability  of  such  in- 
stitutions to  become  corrupt  in  doctrine,  and  the  necessity  of 
increasing  their  number  that  they  might  operate  as  a  check  upon 
each  other,  and  that  no  one  shall  become  overgrown,"  were 
also  assigned  as  reasons  for  establishing  the  new  seminary. 

In  the  Constitution  of  the  Pastoral  Union,  its  object  is  stated 
to  be,  the  promotion  of  ministerial  intercourse,  fellowship  and 
pastoral  usefulness ;  the  promotion  of  revivals  of  religion,  the 
defense  of  evangelical  truth  against  prevailing  errors  in  doc- 
trine or  in  practice,  and  the  raising  up  of  sound  and  faithful  min- 
isters for  the  supply  of  the  churches.  The  "  Articles  of  Agree- 
ment" adopted  by  our  brethren  convened  at  Hartford,  January 
9,  1833,  as  amended,  shall  be  the  doctrinal  basis  of  this  union. 
The  number  of  articles  is  twenty,  and  they  are  too  long  to  be 
here  inserted.  The  Constitution  also  provides  that  pastors  and 
ordained  ministers  may  become  members  of  the  Union  by  nom- 
ination and  vote,  and  signing  the  Articles  of  Agreement  ;  the 
Union  may  establish  seminaries  and  periodical  publications  ; 
the  Constitution,  but  not  the  Articles  of  Agreement,  may  be  al- 
tered;  and  ministers  out  of  the  state  may  become  members. 

This  constitutional  basis  being  adopted,  the  Pastoral  Union 
immediately  adopted  a  plan  for  the  regulation  of  the  contem- 
plated Seminary,  the  distinguishing  features  of  which  are  that 
its  title  should  be  the  Theological  Institute  of  Connecticut, 
that  its  general  management  and  oversight  should  be  vested  in 


Theological  Institute  of  Connecticut.  187 

a  Board  of  Trustees,  consisting  of  at  least  twelve  ministers, 
and  eight  laymen,  to  be  appointed  annually  by  the  Pastoral  Un- 
ion, and  that  "  every  trustee  and  officer  in  the  Institute  shall, 
on  entering  upon  his  duties,  subscribe  the  Creed  of  the  Pastoral 
Union  of  Connecticut."  He  shall  also  declare  his  full  assent  to 
it  every  year  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

In  virtue  of  their  appointment,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
constitution  of  the  Institute,  the  Trustees  proceeded  to  locate 
the  Institute,  to  elect  a  Faculty,  to  provide  the  requisite  build- 
ings and  library,  and  to  do  whatever  was  necessary  to  put  the 
Seminary  into  operation. 

The  Institute  was  located  at  East  Windsor  Hill.  The  Rev. 
Bennet  Tyler,  D.  D.,  of  Portland,  Maine,  was  chosen  Pres- 
ident and  professor  of  Theology,  and  Rev.  Jonathan  Cogswell, 
D.  D.,  of  New  Britain,  professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 

On  the  13th  May,  1834,  the  corner  stone  of  the  seminary 
edifice  was  laid  by  Rev.  Dr.  Perkins,  and  on  the  same  day  the 
two  elected  professors  were  inducted  into  office.  In  October 
following,  Rev.  William  Thompson  of  North  Bridgewater, 
Mass.,  was  chosen  professor  of  Biblical  Literature,  and  the  sem- 
inary went  into  full  operation  with  a  respectable  number  of 
students. 

The  course  of  instruction  in  this  institution  has  ever  been 
peculiarly  Biblical.  The  professors  have  aimed  to  inculcate 
God's  truth.  The  great  question  has  been  what  has  God  said, 
and  not  what  does  human  philosophy  teach.  The  doctrines 
taught  are  such  as  for  the  most  part  have  been  held  by  the 
great  lights  of  New  England  already  named,  but  with  no  sla- 
vish regard  to  human  authority.  Associations  and  Ecclesias- 
tical Councils  have  borne  pleasing  testimony  to  the  thorough- 
ness of  instruction,  as  well  as  soundness  in  the  faith  of  the 
graduates  of  the  Institute. 

The  friends  of  the  Institute,  though  struggling  against  many 
opposing  influences,  feel  that  they  have  not  labored  in  vain. 
They  think  that  something  has  been  done  to  maintain  and  per- 
petuate what  they  believe  to  be  the  true  gospel,  to  check  the 
tendencies  to  error,  and  greatly  to  modify  the  theological  views 
of  those  who  had  strongly  sympathized  with  the  speculations 
and  doctrines  which  led  to  their  enterprise. 


188  Theological  Institute  of  Connecticut. 

Within  a  few  years  past  several  friends  of  the  two  institu- 
tions of  the  state  have  cherished  the  hope  that  they  might  be 
united.  The  heat  of  the  controversy  had  subsided,  both  insti- 
tutions were  depressed,  each  having  but  few  students,  and  great 
advantages  it  was  thought  would  result  from  their  union. 
Seeming  obstacles  it  was  thougtit  could  be  removed.  At  all 
events  it  was  worth  while  to  make  the  attempt.  The  matter 
was  laid  before^  the  trustees,  committees  were  appointed  to  con- 
fer with  the  New  Haven  gentlemen  arid  see  on  what  terms  the 
union  could  be  consummated.  But  it  was  soon  found  that  dif- 
ficulties insuperable  were  in' the  way,  and  the  design  was  re- 
linquished. 

It  should  be  gratefully  recorded,  that  the  leaders  in  the  con- 
troversy which  so  long  continued,  while  they  earnestly  con- 
tended for  their  respective  views,  never  ceased  to  cherish  and 
to  manifest  to  each  other  feelings  of  Christian  kindness  and 
charity.  The  senior  professors  of  the  two  institutions  have 
now  gone  to  their  account,  arid  we  doubt  not  their  gracious 
reward.  They  doubtless  now  see  eye  to  eye.  New  professors 
have  been  chosen  in  their  places. 

Its  whole  number  of  students  have  been,  to  September  1859, 
238  ;  its  graduates,  1 48. 

The  Institute  has  revived  from  its  late  depression,  and  with 
what  may  be  esteemed  for  its  age,  a  liberal  endowment,  and 
provision  to  a  considerable  extent  for  the  aid  of  necessitous 
students.  Under  the  smiles  of  a  gracious  Providence  it  is  ho- 
ped it  may  be  a  fountain,  yearly  sending  forth  streams  to  make 
glad  the  city  of  God. 

FACULTY. 

President  and  Professor  of  Christian  Theology. 

ELECTED.  RESIGNED. 

1833.  Rev.  Bennet  Tyler,  D.  D.  1857. 

Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 

1834.  Rev.  Jonathan  Cogswell,  D.  D.  1844. 

Nettleton  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature. 
1834.  Rev.  William  Thompson,  D.  D. 


Theological  Institute  of  Connecticut.  189 


Professor  of  Sacred  lll 
1844.  Rev.  Edward  W.  Hooker,  D.  n.  1848. 

Waldo  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Pastoral  Duty. 

1851.  Rev.  Nahum  Gale,  D.  D.  1853. 

1854.  Rev.  Edward  A.  Lawrence,  D.  D. 

Riley  Professor  of  Christian  Theology. 
1858.  Rev.  Robert  G.  Vermilye,  D.  D. 

Dr.  Nettleton,  also,  gave  occasional  familiar  lectures  to  the 
students  on  Revivals  of  Religion  and  kindred  topics,  from 
1834  to  1844. 


SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 


BY    REV.    JOEL    HAWES,    D.    D.,    HARTFORD. 


As  Sabbath  schools  have  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  perma- 
nent agency  in  promoting  the  cause  of  Christ,  it  has  been 
thought  proper  to  present  on  this  occasion,  a  brief  notice  of 
their  origin,  progress,  and  present  condition,  especially  in  con- 
nection with  our  denomination. 

It  is  not  easy  to  mark  the  precise  time  of  the  commence- 
ment of  Sabbath  schools.  It  is  the  common  belief  that  they 
originated  with  Robert  Raikes  in  the  city  of  Gloucester,  Eng- 
land, in  1781.  And  this  is  probably  true,  if  reference  be  had 
only  to  the  present  system  of  Sabbath  school  instruction.  But 
something  equivalent  to  this  mode  of  instruction,  and  often 
approaching  very  near  to  it  in  form,  can  be  traced  through  every 
period  of  the  history  of  the  church.  Not  to  refer  to  earlier 
examples,  as  far  back  as  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century, 
Carlo  Borromeo,  Archbishop  of  Milan,  though  a  Catholic, 
feeling  a  deep  interest  in  the  instruction  of  the  young,  founded 
within  his  diocese  740  schools,  v/ith  3,040  teachers  and  40,098 
scholars.  At  the  Cathedral  in  Milan  he  gathered  children  by 
thousands  on  the  Sabbath,  classified  under  catechetical  teachers, 
and  superintended  by  himself.  The  Waldenses  pursued  a  very 
similar  course  in  the  religious  instruction  of  their  children  and 
youth.  Schools  though  in  a  somewhat  different  form  from  the 
present  system,  have  been  coeval  with  the  settlement  of  New 
England.  Our  pilgrim  fathers  showed  the  greatest  care  in  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  young.  They  were  accustomed  to 
spend  a  portion  of  each  Sabbath  in  gathering  around  them  the 
younger  members  of  their  households,  and  teaching  them  from 
the  word  of  God.  The  pastors,  too,  had  their  appointed  sea- 
sons for  catechising  the  children  and  youth  of  their  charge  on 
the  Sabbath,  and  at  other  times  ;  and  in  this  good  work  they 
were  wont  to  be  urged  by  the  officers  and  other  members  of 
the  church. 


Sabbath  Schools.  191 

In  Roxbury,  Masachusetts,  a  Sabbath  school  was  established 
iu  the  Congregational  church  there  in  1761,  in  which  the  male 
youth  remained  every  Sabbath,  after  morning  service,  to  be 
instructed  by  their  elders,  and  the  female  youth  by  their  elders, 
in  the  catechism  and  the  Scriptures.  Dr.  Bellamy,  pastor  of 
the  church  in  Bethlehem  in  this  state,  from  1740  till  the  time 
of  his  death,  was  accustomed  to  meet  the  youth  of  his  con- 
gregation on  the  Sabbath,  not  merely  for  a  catechetical  exer- 
cise, but  for  a  recitation  from  the  Bible,  accompanied  with 
familiar  instruction,  suited  to  the  capacities  of  the  young.  In 
this  exercise,  too,  he  was  often  assisted  by  members  of  his 
church.  And  it  was  said  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Langdon,  who  was 
settled  for  some  time  in  the  same  parish,  that  he  had  reason  to 
believe  they  had  never  been  without  a  Sabbath  school  from 
the  earliest  settlement  of  the  town. 

In  Washington,  in  this  state,  about  the  year  1781,  the  same 
yearin  which  Robert  Raikes  commenced  the  first  Sabbath  school 
in  Gloucester,  some  of  the  fathers  of  the  church  gathered  their 
children  around  them  under  the  trees  which  shaded  the  Green, 
and  there,  during  the  Sabbath  intermissions  in.  the  summer,  in- 
structed them  in  the  word  of  God  and  the  Assembly's  Cate- 
chism. Examples  similar  to  the  two  last  named  might  be  mul- 
tiplied to  almost  any  extent.  Indeed  it  has  been  characteristic 
of  our  Congregational  churches,  from  their  earliest  history,  to 
care  for  the  religious  training  of  the  rising  generation,  and  this 
duty  has  always  been  faithfully  performed  just  in  proportion  as 
religion  has  revived  and  flourished  among  the  people.  The 
modern  system  of  Sabbath  school  instruction  has  changed 
somewhat  the  form,  but  did  not  originate  the  fact  of  the  social 
teaching  of  the  young  in  our  congregations  on  the  Sabbath  in 
the  knowledge  of  God  and  salvation. 

The  first  Sabbath  school,  or  among  the  first,  after  the  modern 
system,  in  this  country,  was  established,  it  is  said,  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1791,  ten  years  after  its  origin  in  England.  In  1803 
the  late  Mr.  Bethune,  with  his  wife  and  her  mother,  Mrs.  Isa- 
bella Graham,  of  blessed  memory,  opened  a  school  at  her  own 
expense  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  superintended  two  or  three 
others,  established  through  their  instrumentality.  From  1812  to 
1824,  Sabbath  schools  were  established  to  a  wide  extent  in  New 


192  Sabbath  Schools. 

England  and  the  middle  states.  The  system  was  introduced 
into  this  state  about  this  period.  I  find  it  stated  that  a  Sabbath 
school  was  opened  by  six  young  men  in  the  city  of  Norwich  in 
1816.  In  1818,  about  a  month  after  my  ordination,  the  four 
churches  in  Hartford  united  and  formed  a  Sabbath  school 
society,  and  adopted  measures  for  an  efficient  organization  of 
a  Sunday  school  in  each  of  the  congregations.  Something 
had  been  done  in  the  way  of  collecting  and  teaching  the 
young  on  the  Sabbath  some  time  before.  But  the  system  as 
such  was  inaugurated  on  the  8th  of  April,  1818.  Soor.  the 
same  system  spread  into  other  parts  of  the  state,  and  ere  long 
a  Sabbath  school  came  to  be  regarded  as  an  essential  appendage 
to  every  healthy  and  growing  church.  The  system  was  at 
first  very  imperfect.  But  experience  worked  improvement, 
and  gradually  it  has  grown  to  what  it  is,  not  yet  perfect,  but 
far  in  advance  of  what  it  was  in  the  beginning  ;  and  it  is  now 
justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  agencies  we  have 
for  instructing  the  young,  and  building  up  our  churches  in 
truth  and  faithfulness  unto  God.  It  reaches  not  the  young 
alone,  but  all  ages  and  classes  of  society.  There  is  not  a 
church  of  our  denomination  in  the  state,  nor  of  any  other, 
having  a  well  conducted  Sabbath  school,  that  is  not  the  better 

c?  ' 

in  all  its  interests,  for  sustaining  such  an  institution.  Take  a 
few  facts.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  now  66.000  scholars 
of  all  ages  in  the  various  Sabbath  schools  in  this  state,  some 
15,000  of  whom  are  over  18  years  of  age.  There  are  9,500 
teachers  in  these  schools,  engaged  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  in 
planting  the  seed  of  the  Word  in  these  66.000  tender,  receptive 
minds.  Instruction  is  given,  sympathy  is  expressed,  prayer  is 
offered,  and  God  sends  down  His  Spirit  to  bless  both  the  teach- 
ers and  the  taught.  During  the  year  1858,  memorable  for  the 
great  revival,  8,000  were  reported  as  having  been  hopefully 
converted  and  brought  to  Christ  in  all  the  Sabbath  schools  of 
the  state.  What  number  of  these  were  of  our  denomination 
I  have  not  the  means  of  stating.  For  many  years  past  it  ap- 
pears from  the  best  evidence  that  a  very  large  proportion,  at 
least  seventy-five  per  cent.,  probably  more,  of  all  that  unite 
with  our  churches  on  a  profession  of  religion,  are  gathered 


Sabbath  Schools.  193 

from  those  who  have  been  or  were  at  the  time,  members  of 
the  Sabbath  school. 

And  very  gratifying  it  is  to  mark  the  steady  progress  of  the 
Sabbath  school  system,  not  only  in  the  character  arid  extent  of 
its  influence,  but  in  the  methods  and  subjects  of  its  instruction. 
At  first  the  chief  aim  was  to  gather  the  poor  and  the  neglected 
into  the  schools  and  teach  them  the  common  rudiments  of 
learning,  and  to  commit  texts  of  Scripture  with  the  catechism 
to  memory.  Soon  the  better  classes  of  society,  observing  the 
happy  influence  of  this  mode  of  instruction,  sought  to  place 
their  children  in  Sabbath  schools,  and  now  the  youthful  mem- 
bers of  our  first  families  are  found,  in  large  proportion,  in  these 
nurseries  of  Bible  knowledge  and  early  piety.  At  first  those 
who  taught  were  hired  to  do  their  work,  as  was  the  fact  in  the 
schools  established  by  Mr.  Raikes  in  Gloucester,  and  for  a  time 
this  practice  seems  to  have  been  common.  To  John  Wesley, 
in  J785,  is  attributed  the  credit  of  introducing  the  present  sys- 
tem of  unpaid  teaching,  and  of  exclusive  religious  instruction. 
Now  the  whole  work  is  by  a  voluntary  agency,  and  teachers, 
prompted  by  benevolence,  rejoice  to  engage  in  this  method  of 
doing  good.  At  first  only  small  children  were  thought  to  be 
proper  subjects  of  Sabbath  school  instruction,  and  almost  any 
one,  who  could  be  obtained,  was  deemed  qualified  to  instruct 
them.  Now  thousands  of  our  youth,  over  eighteen  years  of 
age,  with  large  numbers  of  adult  persons,  are  found  in  the 
Sabbath  school,  and  a  full  share  of  the  best  talent  in  our 
churches  is  engaged  in  the  business  of  instruction.  At  first, 
and  indeed  for  a  long  time,  there  were  very  few  helps  in  the 
work  of  Sabbath  school  instruction ;  the  Bible,  always  in 
place,  and  the  catechism  being  almost  the  only  books  in  use. 
There  were  no  appropriate  Sunday  school  books,  or  teachers, 
or  libraries,  and  few  commentaries  that  were  suited  to  aid  in 
the  work  to  be  done.  But  in  process  of  time,  a  Sabbath  school 
literature  of  a  high  character  has  grown  up  ;  hundreds,  not  to 
say  thousands  of  Sunday  school  books,  excellently  adapted  to 
interest,  and  instruct  the  young,  have  been  published  and  as- 
sorted into  libraries  ;  and  these,  with  the  numerous  helps  now 
afforded  the  teacher,  to  assist  him  to  understand  the  Bible  and 
the  best  mode  of  communicating  its  precious  truth  to  the  young 

26 


194  Sabbath  Schools. 

mind,  leave  scarcely  anything  to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  ex- 
ternal appliances  to  make  our  Sabbath  school  apparatus  com- 
plete. At  first,  the  object  of  Sabbath  schools  scarcely  rose 
higher  than  to  keep  children  out  of  mischief,  or  teach  them  to 
recite  from  memory  passages  of  Scripture,  ill  the  hope  that 
perchance  some  good  influence  might  emanate  from  the  exer- 
cise. But  this  low  aim  has  long  since  passed  away,  and  one 
much  more  elevated  and  spiritual  has  taken  its  place.  The 
object  now  in  every  well  conducted  Sabbath  school  is  to  teach 
the  young  the  way  of  salvation,  to  lodge  in  their  minds  the 
saving  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  bring  theni  all  into  the  fold  of 
the  good  shepherd.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  and  corresponding 
have  been  the  tokens  of  God's  approbation. 

Such  are  some  of  the  marks  of  progress  in  the  system  of 
Sabbath  school  instruction.  And  they  are  certainly  very  en- 
couraging. But  the  system,  though  greatly  in  advance  of  what 
it  was  only  a  few  years  sitice,  is  still  far  from  being  perfect. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  defects,  both  in  organization,  mode  of 
teaching,  and  books,  which  more  experience  will  discover  and 
correct  ;  and  happy  will  he  be,  who  shall  be  enabled  to  do 
anything  to  add  to  the  completeness  and  efficiency  of  a  system 
which  has  been  and  is  productive  of  wide  spread  and  most 
beneficent  results. 

The  phrase  "  well  conducted  Sabbath  school  "  occurs  in 
what  is  said  above.  Were  I  to  describe  such  a  school  it  would 
be  in  this  wise  ; — the  superintendent,  who  is  in  fact  the  motive 
power  at  the  center  of  the  whole  machine,  should  be  a  man 
well  qualified  for  his  place,  intelligent,  kind,  genial,  warm-heart- 
ed, with  aptness  and  skill  to  discern  character,  and  adapt  himself 
to  different  temperaments,  and  earnestly  devoted  to  his  work, 
from  the  love  of  it.  He  should  be  surrounded  with  a  band  of  in- 
telligent, faithful,  cooperative  teachers  of  different  ages  and  of 
both  sexes,  who  shall  be  prompt  and  punctual  in  their  places, 
thoroughly  prepared  in  their  lessons,  and  ready  to  meet  their 
classes  with  hearts  of  love  and  words  of  kindness,  earnestly  de- 
siring to  win  them  to  Christ.  The  scholars  should  be  taught, 
both  at  home  and  in  the  school,  to  be  always  in  season,  ready 
to  meet  their  teacher  and  listen  to  his  instruction  the  moment 
the  exercises  commence :  and  it  should  be  understood  both  by 


Sabbath  Schools.  195 

teachers  and  pupils,  that  the  hour  they  spend  together  is  not 
to  be  spent,  as  it  sometimes  is,  in  small  talk,  or  in  telling  sto- 
ries to  entertain  and  amuse,  but  in  the  serious,  earnest  study  of 
the  Bible,  in  order  to  communicate  and  learn  its  truths,  and  so 
become  wise  unto  salvation.  Measures  should  be  adopted  by 
visitation,  or  otherwise,  to  draw  all  the  children  and  youth  of 
the  congregation  into  the  school,  with  as  many  others  of  adult 
age  as  can  be  persuaded  to  attend  ;  and  then  all  should  be  or- 
ganized in  well  assorted  classes,  and  each  class  furnished  with 
a  well  qualified  teacher,  suited  to  their  different  ages  and  char- 
acters. The  pastor  should  feel  a  deep  and  lively  interest  in 
the  school  ;  he  should  look  upon  it  as  the  right  arm  of  his 
ministry  ;  as  the  pleasantest  and  most  hopeful  part  of  the  gar- 
den he  is  called  to  cultivate  ;  and  encouraging  all  who  labor  in 
it  by  his  counsels  and  presence,  he  should  tenderly  nurture  the 
plants  gathered  there,  that  they  may  grow  and  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  eternal  life.  With  the  pastor,  the  parents  of  the  scholars, 
and  all  the  members  of  the  church  should  join  their  influence  ; 
the  one  instructing  and  preparing  the  children  at  home  in  the 
lessons  which  are  appointed  in  school,  and  all  remembering 
both  scholars  and  teachers  in  their  prayers,  and  all  coming  to- 
gether at  the  monthly  Sabbath  school  concert,  which  should 
by  all  means  be  kept  up,  to  unite  in  mutual  counsel,  sympathy 
and  supplication,  for  the  blessing  of  God  to  rest  upon  the  good 
work  and  crown  it  with  success  in  the  salvation  of  those  for 
whom  this  labor  of  love  is  performed.  Added  to  all,  the  mis- 
sionary element  should  enter  prominently  into  the  manage- 
ment of  the  school,  and  all  the  members  of  it  should  be  taught 
from  their  earliest  age  to  feel  an  interest  in  the  poor  and  per- 
ishing, wherever  they  are,  and  to  contribute  their  mites,  from 
time  to  time,  to  aid  in  sending  to  them  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel. 

Something  like  this  is  the  idea  in  my  mind  of  a  well  con- 
ducted Sabbath  school.  I  would,  of  course,  have  it  well  fur- 
nished with  a  teacher's  library,  and  a  library  of  judiciously 
selected  books  for  the  scholars  ;  and  then  I  would  concentrate 
upon  it  the  united,  intelligent,  Christian  influence  of  superin- 
tendent, teachers,  pastor,  parents,  members  of  the  church,  and 
all,  in  the  one  great  object,  of  making  the  school  a  school  for 


196  Sabbath  Schools. 

training  up  immortal  beings  to  serve  God  and  their  generation 
on  earth,  and  to  inherit  everlasting  happiness  in  Heaven. 

What  proportion  of  the  Sabbath  schools  in  the  state,  or  in 
connection  with  our  denomination,  realize  in  any  good  measure 
this  idea  of  what  they  should  be,  I  have  no  means  of  knowing. 
But  I  cannot  avoid  thinking,  that  a  Sunday  school  conducted 
after  the  model  here  presented,  or  coming  near  to  it,  would 
send  a  constant  flow  of  increase  both  of  piety  and  of  members 
into  the  churches,  first  training  its  pupils  for  the  communion  of 
the  church  on  earth,  and  then  transferring  them  to  the  com- 
munion of  saints  above.  And  the  time  will  come,  I  am  sure, 
when  this  will  be  the  process  of  nurturing  the  rising  genera- 
tion ;  it  will  commence  in  early  and  faithful  parental  instruc- 
tion in  the  family  ;  then  pass  into  the  Sabbath  school  to 
be  advanced  there  ;  and  next  into  the  church,  to  be  car- 
ried still  further  on  ;  and  finally  be  perfected  in  Heaven,  in 
the  happy  reunion  of  parents,  children,  teachers,  pastors  and 
all  who  have  heartily  aided  in  the  good  work,  with  the  great 
family  of  the  redeemed  in  Heaven.  Such  a  day  is  yet  to  rise 
and  bless  the  church  and  the  world  ;  and  happy  they  who  con- 
tribute anything  by  their  prayers  and  efforts  to  hasten  so  glo- 
rious a  consummation ! 


REVIVALS  OF  RELIGION. 

The  history  of  special  revivals  of  religion  in  Connecticut  need 
not  be  written  here.  Contemporaneous  memoirs  of  two  impor- 
tant periods  are  preserved  in  Prince's  Christian  History,  (2  vols. 
Boston  1743,  1744,)  and  in  the  Connecticut  Evangelical  Maga- 
zine, (Hartford,  1800—1814.)  Tracy's  "  Great  Awakening  " 
sums  up  with  much  ability  the  memoirs  of  the  former  period, 
and  the  late  Dr.  Tyler  re-edited  the  materials  which  had  been 
collected  in  the  successive  volumes  of  the  Evangelical  Maga- 
zine, but  had  ceased  to  be  generally  accessible.  Both  these 
works  are  published  by  the  Congregational  Board  of  Publica- 
tion. In  this  article  nothing  more  is  proposed  than  briefly  to 
indicate  the  distinct  periods  of  spiritual  reviving  in  our 
churches,  the  extent  of  those  revivals,  the  means  which  have 
been  used,  and  some  of  the  results. 

Probably  all  our  churches  have  been  visited,  at  one  time  or 
another,  with  special  revivals  of  religion.  Some  of  them  have 
been  blessed  in  this  way  very  frequently.  The  first  general 
awakening  which  makes  its  mark  distinctly  in  our  religious  his- 
tory was  about  the  year  1740,  commencing  in  some  churches 
four  or  five  years  earlier,  and  continuing  for  several  years. 
That  movement  began  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  in  1735,  under 
the  ministry  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  extended  into  various 
parts  of  New  England.  The  formalism  of  the  preceding  age, 
the  general  use  of  the  half  way  covenant,  and  at  last  the  Stod- 
dardean  principle  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  to  be  used  as  a 
means  of  regeneration,  had  brought  into  full  communion  in  the 
churches  a  body  of  confessedly  unregenerate  men.  Edwards 
and  others  saw  that  in  faithfulness  to  that  class  of  hearers,  it 
was  necessary  to  preach  to  them  such  truth,  and  with  such 
personal  application,  as  they  had  not  been  wont  to  hear.  His 
sermons  on  justification  by  faith,  and  his  sermons  proving  that 
"every  mouth  shall  be  stopped,"  had  a  powerful  effect,  and 
several  persons  were  wrought  upon  in  a  remarkable  manner, 
— some  to  all  appearance  savingly  converted.  According  to 
Tracy's  account,  the  report  of  this  state  of  things  at  North- 


198  Revivals  of  Religitn. 

ampton  spread  into  other  towns ;  great  numbers  went  to  North- 
ampton to  see  for  themselves,  and  not  a  few  of  them  from 
various  places  were  awakened  and  apparently  brought  to  re- 
pentance. The  revival  began  to  be  general  in  Suffield  and  in 
Windsor  about  the  same  time  as  at  Northampton.  Edwards 
himself  preached  in  some  places  in  Connecticut,  as  at  Enfield 
in  July  1740,  what  was  noted  as  his  Etifield  sermon,  "  Sinners 
in  the  hands  of  an  angry  God."  The  work  had  spread  before 
this  into  almost  all  the  region.  It  was  "  ren:arkable  "  at  East 
Windsor,  and  "  wonderful  "  at  Coventry.  Similar  scenes  were 
also  witnessed  at  Lebanon,  Durham,  Stratford,  Huntington, 
New  Haven,  Guilford,  Mansfield,  Tolland,  Hebron,  Bolton, 
Preston,  Groton  and  Woodbury.  Prince's  "  Christian  History," 
contains  accounts  of  the  revival  in  fourteen  churches,  written 
or  subscribed  by  their  pastors  ;  thirty  churches  in  Connecticut 
are  mentioned  as  having  shared  in  the  blessing. 

Among  a  portion  of  the  ministers,  and  of  the  churches,  there 
was  great  opposition  to  this  revival,  or  rather  to  some  of  its  ac- 
companiments. The  measures  adopted  by  some  excited  their 
fears,  and  the  extravagances  practiced  led  them  to  use  all  the 
caution  and  influence  in  their  power,  in  opposition.  Resulting 
from  these  and  other  causes,  there  was  a  great  decay  of  revi- 
vals for  many  years  after.  At  the  clcse  of  the  great  revival  of 
1740,  James  Davenport,  and  others  misled  by  him,  fell  into 
grievous  fanatical  excesses,  rent  asunder  churches,  and  occa- 
sioned much  confusion  in  the  estimate  of  many  who  did  not 
sufficiently  discriminate,  thus  bringing  all  revivals  into  suspi- 
cion and  discredit.  After  that,  the  rise  of  the  Separate  churches, 
growing  partly  out  of  opposition  to  the  revival,  and  occasion- 
ing much  controversy  not  favorable  to  high  religious  feeling  ; 
the  civil  troubles  of  the  times,  in  the  old  French  war  from  1756 
to  1763,  the  revolutionary  war  from  1775  to  1783  ;  the  gradual 
restoration  of  domestic  tranquility  on  the  conclusion  of  peace  ; 
the  agitation  of  questions  concerning  the  establishment  of  a 
general  government ; — all  constituting  so  many  exciting  and 
important  public  matters,  crowded  upon  the  attention  of  the 
people,  and  thereby  the  things  of  true  religion  were  kept  in 
the  back-ground  arid  there  were  scarcely  any  revivals  in  the 
land.  These  causes  partly  account  for  the  infrequency  of 


Revivals  of  Religion.  199 

special  effusions  of  the  Spirit,  without  ascribing  it  wholly  to 
the  judgment  of  Heaven  for  opposition,  from  differences  of 
views  and  spirit,  to  the  great  awakening.  Considering  all  the 
exciting  topics  of  the  times,  and  the  state  of  the  people  in  their 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs,  it  had  been  strange  if  revivals 
had  been  as  numerous  from  1750  to  1790,  as  before  and  since. 

But  even  in  those  troublous  times,  the  churches  were  not 
wholly  forsaken.  There  were  here  and  there  revivals,  which 
made  considerable  additions  to  their  membership,  10,  20,  30, 
and  in  one  instance  in  1774,  85.  There  were  some  revivals  in 
1783,  several  in  1768-9,  and  others  from  1780  to  1785. 

But  the  era  of  modern  revivals  dates  from  the  year 
1792.  During  all  the  closing  years  of  the  last  century  and  as 
many  of  the  present,  revivals  were  very  general,  not  only  in 
this  state,  but  throughout  New  England.  Dr.  Griffin  says, 
"  from  that  date  I  saw  a  continued  succession  of  heavenly 
sprinklings,  until  I  could  stand  at  my  door  in  New  Hartford, 
and  number  fifty  or  sixty  congregations  laid  down  in  one  field 
of  divine  wonders."  The  Evangelical  Magazine  contains  ac- 
counts of  these  works  of  grace  during  that  period,  in  every 
part  of  the  state.  There  were  also  revivals  in  many  more 
places,  concerning  which  no  accounts  were  published. 

Since  that  revival  period  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
these  seasons  of  refreshing  have  been  frequent.  Particularly 
the  years  1816,  '21,  '26,  '31,  '38,  '49,  '53  and  '58,  and  in  many 
cases,  years  preceding  or  succeeding  these,  have  been  the  most 
favored. 

The  great  Awakening  originated  under  the  preaching  of 
Edwards  as  already  stated.  Among  the  chief  instruments  of 
furthering  the  work  were  pastors  Parsons  of  Lyme,  Wheelock 
of  Columbia,  Pomroy  of  Hebron,  Bellamy  of  Bethlem,  Gris- 
wold  of  East  Lyme.  Croswell  of  Ledyard,  and  others.  These 
and  others  labored  more  or  less  beyond  the  bounds  of  their 
own  parishes,  as  they  were  invited  to  aid  other  pastors.  Whit- 
field  made  one  rapid  tour  across  the  state  from  Spring- 
field by  Hartford  and  New  Haven  to  New  York.  The  fervor 
of  Parsons,  who  learned  quickly  by  experience  the  dangers  of 
the  times,  the  zeal  of  Wheelock  and  Pomroy,  and  the  activity 
and  wisdom  and  doctrinal  depth  of  Bellamy,  gave  a  pow- 


200  Revivals  of  Religion. 

erful  impulse  to  the  work.  They  found  kindred  spirits  in  both 
clergy  and  laity  to  cooperate  with  them. 

In  1755  and  for  several  years  after,  circular  fasts  were  adopt- 
ed as  means  for  awakening  and  promoting  attention  to  true  re- 
ligion, in  some  parts  of  the  State.  Several  churches  by  their 
ministers,  delegates  and  members  voluntarily  attending,  went 
from  church  to  church  to  hold  seasons  of  fasting  and  religious 
services  for  the  reviving  of  true  religion  ;  and  these  means 
proved  instrumental  of  much  good. 

In  the  revivals  of  1792  to  1808,  the  means  used  were  little 
else  than  the  official  preaching  of  the  doctrines  of  the  cross, 
with  such  illustrations  and  applications  as  resulted  from  the 
thoroughly  Calvin istic  views  advanced  by  Bellamy  and  Smalley, 
and  taught  by  them  and  by  Backus.  Hooker  and  others  of  a 
kindred  spirit,  to  their  pupils  in  theology.  Dr.  Bellamy  died 
just  before  these  last  revival  days,  Dr.  Backus  in  the  midst  of 
them,  and  Smalley  and  Hooker  lived  several  years  after.  But 
their  teachings  and  the  kind  of  preaching  which  characterized 
the  ministry  of  Griffin,  Hallock,  Mills,  Gillett  and  many  others 
might  well  result  in  a  general  revival.  Other  states  also  shared 
in  the  divine  effusions  of  these  days. 

Next  came  in  1813,  and  till  after  the  revival  of  1831,  the  la- 
bors of  Dr.  Nettleton.  His  judicious  and  well-directed  efforts 
in  aid  of  pastors  and  the  almost  unexceptionable  measures  and 
influence  he  used,  are  well  known,  though  in  the  view  of  some 
his  itinerating  has  furnished  an  example  and  occasion  for  other 
evangelists,  destitute  of  his  wisdom  and  respect  for  the  settled 
ministry,  to  run  into  excesses  and  extremes  in  their  measures, 
productive  of  infinite  mischief  for  the  time  being,  rendering 
the  ordinary  means  of  grace  inefficient  in  following  their  ex- 
citements, causing  many  men  to  lose  all  respect  for  revivals 
and  thus  doing  incalculable  and  lasting  evil,  though  not  with- 
out some  partial  good. 

In  1821,  there  seemed  to  be  no  immediate  cause  of  the  re- 
markable awakening,  in  the  special  efforts  of  ministers  and 
Christians,  but  while  they  were  mourning  over  the  low  state  of 
Zion,  suddenly  the  Lord  appeared  to  build  up  Zion  in  his 
glory. 

In  1826-7,  conferences  of  churches  were  held — pastors  and 


Revivals  of  Religion.  201 

particularly  laymen  of  several  churches  visited  particular 
churches  in  turn,  and  attended  public  meetings  for  conference 
and  prayer. 

In  1831,  and  fora  few  years  following,  continuous  or  pro- 
tracted meetings  for  some  days  were  held,  and  when  wisely 
and  cautiously  conducted,  were  productive  of  much  good. 
The  extravagances  and  extreme  measures  practiced  in  some 
other  states  never  accorded  with  the  staid  habits  and  religious 
principle  of  our  churches  and  people,  and  were  but  seldom 
adopted.  From  that  time, — after  these  meetings  had  passed 
away,  occasional  itinerant  evangelists  have  labored  in  here  and 
there  a  church,  assisting  its  pastor  during  a  time  of  religious 
interest,  but  more  frequently  pastors  have  aided  one  another, 
as  the  most  judicious  and  unexceptional  method. 

The  revival  of  1858  seemed  to  be  chiefly  originated  and 
carried  on  by  means  different  from  any  preceding,  by  prayer 
and  conference  meetings,  with  comparatively  a  small  number 
of  extra  meetings  for  preaching,  and  without  the  special  ex- 
citement or  influence  of  evangelists  or  noted  preachers  of  any 
kind.  Not  that  prayer  meetings  had  been  little  used  before, 
but  they  had  not  been  the  main  dependence  and  chief  means 
of  influence.  Daily  prayer  meetings  first  commenced  in  New 
York,  became  common  in  very  many  of  the  cities  and  villages 
of  this  state,  as  throughout  the  land.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
descended  and  largely  blessed  these  seasons  of  spiritual  commu- 
nion, together  with  the  means  of  personal  conversation  with 
the  unconverted,  and  the  ordinary  preaching  of  the  gospel  on 
the  Sabbath  and  occasionally  on  other  days.  It  is  thus  demon- 
strated that  these  diversities  of  gifts  and  of  operations,  are  of  one 
Spirit  that  worketh  withal,  in  his  own  way,  so  that  God  and 
His  grace  are  alone  to  be  honored  and  have  all  the  praise. 

The  results  of  revivals  in  Connecticut  it  is  easy  to  tell.  Since 
the  controversies  of  the  great  awakening  and  the  disorders  of 
Davenport  and  the  Separates,  the  measures  adopted  having  been 
for  the  most  part  wise  and  spiritual,  the  results  have  been  most 
happy.  Not  a  single  church  is  known  to  have  been  excepted 
from  the  blessing  of  these  divine  effusions  of  grace.  Some- 
times ten  or  twenty,  and  sometimes  100,  150  and  even  200  in  a 
single  congregation  have  been  the  reputed  converts  in  these 

27 


202  Revivals  of  Religion. 

seasons  of  religious  interest.  Men,  women  and  children  have 
come  to  see  themselves  as  sinners,  in  the  light  of  the  divine 
law.  and  been  led  by  the  spirit  of  God,  through  the  truth  and 
the  motives  of  the  gospel,  to  penitence  for  sin,  and  to  lead  a 
new  life, — a  life  of  penitence  and  prayer  and  godliness.  Ex- 
perimental religion  has  thus  been  proved  before  the  eyes  of 
the  irreligious,  the  worldly,  the  universalist,  the  sceptic,  and  the 
infidel  of  every  town  and  neighborhood  in  the  state,  to  be  a 
solemn  and  blessed  reality.  These  classes  have  had  the  purity 
and  consistency  of  the  new  life  in  men,  once  their  companions 
and  sympathizers  to  preach  to  them  of  the  reality  of  true  re- 
ligion. Many  have  thus  been  convicted  and  ultimately  conver- 
ted to  God.  On  the  whole,  these  Connecticut  revivals,  in  the 
main  pure  and  genuine,  have  been  the  life  of  spirituality,  and 
the  sources  of  perpetuity  to  our  churches.  We  have  now  no 
regular  supply  of  church  members  by  probation,  or  a  half-way 
covenant,  or  confirmation  at  a  certain  age,  to  replenish  our 
churches.  The  most  of  our  flocks  owe  their  perpetuity,  in- 
crease and  prosperity,  some  of  them  their  very  existence  to  re- 
vivals. None  look  at  them  in  doubt  or  with  discredit. 
Though  a  perpetual  revival  is  a  beautiful  theory,  ordinary  revi- 
vals are  a  blessed  reality.  May  they  always,  and  with  increas- 
ing frequency  and  power  bless  our  land  and  our  fallen  world. 


CONTRIBUTIONS  FOR  BENEVOLENT  PURPOSES. 

Among  the  inquiries  of  the  circular  to  the  churches,  for 
facts  and  statistics,  were  the  items  and  amount  of  charitable 
donations  for  a  single  year.  Replies  were  received  from  224 
churches  and  the  amount  of  their  contributions  $90,870,  or  an 
average  of  $406  each.  Allowing  but  one-sixth  of  this  aver- 
age for  the  remaining  60  churches,  the  amount  raised  and  paid 
for  benevolent  objects  is  $95,000  ;  which  will  very  soon  reach 
$100,000,  if  it  be  not  as  much  the  current  *year.  It  requires 
only  three-eighths  of  said  average  to  make  that  amount.  This 
is  exclusive  of  the  support  of  the  Gospel,  and  many  other  ex- 
penses for  the  poor,  sabbath  schools,  and  a  few  pastoral  libra- 
ries, and  other  items  frequently  referred  to,  but  not  named. 
The  sum  raised  for  all  these  objects  in  many  of  the  churches 
equals  the  expense  of  public  worship,  including  salaries  ;  and  in 
a  few  of  the  more  wealthy  churches  much  exceeds  that  amount. 
From  nothing,  fifty  years  ago,  the  churches  have  gradually 
advanced  to  this  standard,  and  yet  it  seldom  has  arisen  to  the 
point  of  real  self-denial  of  luxuries,  much  less  of  any  of  the 
comforts  of  life,  to  save  a  perishing  world.  Though  inqui- 
ries have  been  repeated  on  this  subject,  the  failure  of  obtaining 
complete  returns  has  been  owing  principally  to  the  want  of  a 
record  of  contributions.  Some  few  reports  have  made  no  al- 
lusion to  this  topic :  but  in  no  instance  has  it  been  said  that 
there  are  no  benevolent  contributions  made.  There  is  occa- 
sion for  gratitude  to  God,  that  all  our  churches  acknowledge 
the  obligation  of  practical  benevolence.  Though  in  a  consid- 
erable number  of  them,  there  is  need  of  training  in  the  habit 
of  giving  ;  yet  in  the  most  of  those  reported,  it  was  said  that 
such  offerings  were  made  as  often  as  from  four  to  six  times  in 
a  year,  and  in  a  few,  for  some  object,  nearly  every  month.  It  is 
noticeable  that  where  contributions  were  small,  the  reason  fre- 
quently assigned  was,  that  the  church  had  no  stated  minister 
through  the  year  ;  showing  that  the  great  causes  of  benevo- 
lence mainly  depend  for  their  prosperity  upon  the  interest  taken 


204  Contributions  for  Benevolent  Purposes. 

in  them  by  pastors  and  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  ministry.  It 
was  intended  to  tabulate  the  donations,  or  at  least  to  give  the  ag- 
gregate for  the  several  objects  ;  but  the  amount  of  other  materials 
for  this  volume,  and  the  imperfection  of  returns  in  this  first  at- 
tempt in  this  direction,  has  precluded  both.  The  lessons  learned 
however,  from  these  data,  are  not  without  great  value.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  ministry,  and  the  ability  of  the  church  in  the  work 
of  providing  means  for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  when  a  high 
standard  of  benevolence,  and  true  self-denial  shall  be  reached, 
by  doubling  the  amount  now  given,  or  still  further  multiplying 
it,  show  our  high  responsibility  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church, 
and  together  with  the  calling  forth  of  true  faith  in  the  proph- 
ecies and  promise?  of  God,  hold  out  to  the  humble  Christian 
the  great  hope  of  the  perishing  millions. 


CONNECTION  OP  THE  CONGREGATIONAL  MINIS- 
TERS AND  CHURCHES  OF  CONNECTICUT,  WITH 
THE  RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  TEMPE- 
RANCE REFORMATION. 

• 

BY  REV.  JOHN  MARSH,  D.  D.,  NEW  YORK. 


As  in  the  dawn  of  morning  it  is  difficult  to  determine  which 
ray  of  light  is  first  in  the  work  of  illumination,  so  in  a  great 
social  and  moral  reform,  it  is  often  impossible  to  decide  who 
first  aroused  the  community  to  a  sense  of  the  existing  evil,  or 
first  prompted  in  turning  back  the  tide  of  desolation.  Both 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  may  well  contend  for  pre- 
cedence in  the  temperance  movement ;  and  among  the  good 
men  of  Connecticut  who  early  bewailed  the  ravages  of  the 
destroyer,  we  may  never  know  which  first  of  all  cried,  "  How 
long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true  !  Cannot  the  plague  be  stayed  ?" 
but  certain  it  is  that  no  impression  had  before  been  made  upon 
the  public  mind  like  that  produced  by  a  sermon  preached  by 
Rev.  Ebenezer  Porter,  of  Washington,  Litchfield  county,  in 
the  winter  of  1806,  on  the  discovery  of  a  man  lying  dead  in 
the  snow,  with  a  bottle  of  spirits  at  his  side.  The  discourse 
was  entitled  "  Fatal  Effects  of  Ardent  Spirits."  Text,  Isaiah 
v.  11.  "  Woe  to  them  that  rise  up  early,"  &c.  After  describing 
the  sin,  intemperance,  in  all  its  bearings,  showing  that  it 
destroyed  industry  and  health ;  produced  poverty ;  impaired 
reason  ;  unfitted  men  for  all  the  duties  and  comforts  of  life ; 
led  to  gaming,  swearing,  talebearing,  extinguishing  the  best 
sensibilities  of  the  heart  and  producing  a  miserable  death,  the 
preacher  made  a  solemn  appeal  to  various  classes,  inquiring, 
What  is  to  be  done  ?  He  computed  that  one  in  every  fifteen 
of  all  the  deaths  in  the  year  was  caused  by  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits.  No  man  in  Connecticut  had  ever  fallen  in  a  duel,  but 
thousands  had  fallen  by  strong  drink. 


206  Temperance  Reformation. 

The  sermon  was  printed  and  widely  circulated,  and  was 
afterwards  adopted  as  one  of  the  permanent  tracts  of  the  Ameri- 
can Tract  Society. 

The  condition  of  the  country  at  that  time  was  very  alarming. 
In  a  note  attached  to  Mr.  Porter's  sermon,  it  was  stated  offi- 
cially, that  7,641,207  gallons  of  foreign  spirits  and  2,604,207 
gallons  of  wine,  paying  duties  of  more  than  three  millions  of 
dollars,  were  introduced  annually  to  the  United  States  ;  that  the 
number  of  distilleries  was  30,000,  and  that  the  spirits  consumed 
would  load  100,000  wagons,  which  in  compact  order,  would 
extend  1000  miles  ;  and  that  the  annual  expense  of  it  all,  if 
paid  in  silver,  would  exceed  600  tons  of  dollars. 

In  Connecticut  and  throughout  New  England  at  that  period, 
the  most  unbounded  license  was  given  to  the  use  of  strong 
drink.  It  was  considered  a  luxury,  a  necessity,  and  universal 
panacea.  It  was  in  all  families  and  on  all  tables,  in  all  plea- 
sures, recreations  and  labors ;  a  regular  ration  in  the  hay  and 
harvest  field,  in  all  manufactories  and  ship  yards,  in  fishing, 
boating  and  coasting,  in  the  cold  of  winter  and  the  heats  of 
summer.  It  was  the  universal  proffer  of  hospitality,  freely 
given  and  partaken  of  at  weddings  and  funerals  ;  at  ministerial 
calls,  at  ordinations  and  associations,  without  the  least  sense  of 
impropriety,  provided  it  was  not  used  to  excess.  It  was  too 
the  universal  panacea,  good  in  heat  and  cold,  in  weariness  and 
painfulness,  when  sick  and  when  exposed  to  sickness ;  the 
cure  of  children  in  all  their  complaints,  the  support  of  the 
mother  nursing  her  offspring,  and  of  the  old  man  going  down 
to  the  grave.  It  helped  the  lawyer  plead,  the  minister  preach, 
and  the  physician  go  his  rounds  of  duty.  None  could  tell  its 
worth,  but  all  were  made  to  feel  its  curse.  Not  a  family  was 
there  in  which  there  was  not,  at  some  time  or  other,  one  dead. 
Sottishness  and  drunkenness  marked  every  village.  The  high- 
minded  lawyer,  the  able  physician,  the  eloquent  preacher,  were 
found  filling  the  drunkard's  grave.  The  church  was  cursed  with 
a  blight,  if  not  as  bad  as  in  the  days  of  Jeremiah,  yet  one  that 
filled  good  men  with  alarm  as  they  looked  into  the  future. 
Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  Ebenezer  Porter,  then  a 
young  man,  preached  his  sermon. 

Litchfield  County,  trained  under  the  ministry  of  Bellamy  and 


Temperance  Reformation.  207 

Backus,  and  Hooker  and  Mills,  had  a  high  tone  of  Christian 
morals  and  was  ready  for  resistance  to  all  evil.  As  early  as 
1789,  twenty  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Litchfield,  had  com- 
bined in  a  resistance  to  the  universal  custom  of  furnishing 
laborers  with  strong  drink,  and  yet  none  that  we  know  of, 
commenced  a  work  of  reform  in  their  own  persons  or  house- 
holds. Excommunications  were  frequent  for  drunkenness,  and 
yet  no  church  action  was  known  to  reach  its  cause.  Roused 
by  the  sermon  of  Porter,  the  South  Association  of  the  county 
appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  extent  of  the  grow- 
ing evil  and  report  a  remedy.  In  1811,  five  years  after  the 
sermon  was  preached,  that  committee  reported  that  the 
evil  was  wide  spreading,  but  no  remedy  was  feasible.  Rev. 
Lyman  Beecher,  then  recently  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  at  Litchfield,  with  characteristic  energy 
moved  that  the  committee  be  discharged,  (of  how  long  stand- 
ing they  had  been,  does  not  appear)  and  that  a  new  committee 
be  appointed.  His  motion  was  agreed  to.  The  committee 
was  appointed  and  he  was  made  chairman.  They  imme- 
diately reported  that  there  was  "a  remedy  in  the  universal 
disuse  of  spirituous  liquors  by  all  good  men  and  Christians ;" 
but  what  was  implied  in  this  does  not  appear  ;  such  disuse 
does  not  seem  then  to  have  been  adopted  or  recommended  by 
them,  or  by  any  other  body  as  a  practical  principle,  or  in  the 
least  binding  the  conscience.  About  the  same  time,  and  even 
before.  President  Dwight,  in  his  discourses  to  students,  had 
assumed  the  position,  that  the  man  who  found  in  himself  any 
peculiar  relish  for  spirituous  liquor  was  bound  to  abstain  from 
it  wholly,  and  that  total  abstinence  was  the  only  hope  of  the 
drunkard ;  but  this  too  made  no  impression  ;  all  assented  to 
it,  ministers  and  people,  and  yet  all  kept  on  drinking  as  in  no 
danger  and  doing  no  harm. 

In  1812  the  Fail-field  Consociation  entered  zealously  into  the 
work  of  reform,  and  issued  an  address  to  the  ministers  and 
churches  on  the  prevailing  intemperance.  It  was  the  joint 
work  of  the  Rev.  Rowell  R.  Swan  of  Norwalk,  and  the  Rev. 
Heman  Humphrey  of  Fairfield,  both  Congregational  ministers. 
Few  temperance  publications  of  equal  power  have,  to  this  day, 
been  sent  from  the  press.  The  Consociation  showed  them- 


208  Temperance  Reformation. 

selves  to  be  in  earnest,  and  on  the  13th  of  October,  they  unani- 
mously 

Resolved^  "  That  the  customary  use  of  ardent  spirits  shall  be 
wholly  discontinued  from  that  hour." 

This  was,  doubtless,  the  first  decided  movement  of  any 
ecclesiastical  body  in  the  country.  In  their  address  they  said 
nothing  about  entire  abstinence  in  the  community  at  large  ;  but 
in  recommending  remedies  for  the  evil  they  did  say : 

"1.  "NVe  suggest  particularly  to  those  whose  apppetite  for  drink 
is  strong  and  increasing,  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating 
liquors. 

"  2.  Let  those  who  are  yet  temperate,  let  him  who  thinketh  he 
standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall.  In  short,  let  him  consider  that  he 
is  a  weak,  depraved  creature,  and  that  total  abstinence  from  strong 
drink  is  the  only  course  in  which  he  can  be  certain  that  he  shall  not 
be  injured  and  even  destroyed  by  it." 

Out  of  this  attempt  at  reform  in  that  Consociation  arose  the 
Connecticut  Society  for  the  Reformation  of  Morals,  which,  for 
several  years,  was  powerful  in  its  attacks  upon  gambling,- 
lottery  dealing,  Sabbath  breaking  and  intemperance  ;  but  made 
no  special  assault  upon  this  last  vice,  and  prescribed  no  special 
remedy.  The  masterly  sermons,  however,  of  Humphrey, 
Chapin  and  others  at  the  annual  meetings,  did  much  to  prepare 
the  ministers  and  churches  for  some  bold  and  decided  action. 
The  demoralizing  influence  of  the  war  of  1812,  created  much 
alarm  among  the  ministers  and  churches  ;  and  on  the  return 
of  peace,  great  anxiety  was  felt  for  a  better  state  of  religion 
and  morals ;  and  the  use  of  strong  drink,  which  had  increased 
on  all  occasions  to  the  ruin  of  thousands,  was  greatly  repro- 
bated. In  private  circles  and  at  ordination  dinners  and  meet- 
ings of  ministers,  its  use  was  soon  materially  lessened ;  and 
through  the  wide  circulation  in  the  State  of  the  "  Well  Con- 
ducted Farm,"  a  tract  written  in  1822,  by  Rev.  Justin  Edwards, 
of  Andover,  Mass.,  ardent  spirits  began  to  be  dispensed  with 
in  the  hay  and  harvest  field,  in  raising  and  removing  buildings, 
though  often  occasioning  much  trouble  among  the  employed. 
But  nothing  occurred  to  electrify  and  move  the  great  body  of 


Temperance  Reformation.  209 

ministers  and  churches  until  1826,  a  memorable  year  for  tem- 
perance. 

In  January  of  that  year,  the  Rev.  Calvin  Chapin,  D.  D.,  of 
Rocky-hill,  who,  in  a  missionary  tour  through  Ohio,  had  become 
deeply  impressed  with  the  whisky  plague  of  that  region,  and 
the  belief  that  nothing  would  save  the  nation  but  an  entire 
abandonment  of  spirituous  liquors  by  the  ministers  and 
churches,  commenced  in  the  Connecticut  Observer  at  Hartford, 
a  series  of  short  but  caustic  pieces,  entitled  "  Entire  Abstinence 
the  only  Infallible  Antidote,"  over  the  signature  T.  I.  A.  Some 
laughed ;  some  mocked  ;  some  were  indignant,  and  the  editor 
was  assured  by  ministers  and  church  members  that  if  the 
articles  were  continued,  it  would  be  the  ruin  of  his  paper.  He 
nobly  replied,  "  If  the  paper  stands  on  spirit  drinking,  let  it 
fall."  They  were  continued  weekly  for  a  considerable  period, 
carrying  conviction  to  many  inquiring  what  is  duty,  and 
what  can  and  must  be  done  ? 

Another  memorable  event  in  that  year  was  the  delivery  of 
six  sermons  at  Litchfield  by  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.,  on 
the  nature,  signs,  evils  and  remedy  of  intemperance.  Those 
were  printed  and  scattered  widely  abroad,  and  were  destined 
to  have  a  mighty  influence  on  the  church  and  the  world.  A 
third  important  event  the  same  year  was  the  formation  at 
Boston  of  the  American  Temperance  Society,  and  the  employ- 
ment of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hewit,  the  successor  of  Rev. 
Heman  Humphrey  in  the  pastoral  office  at  Fairlield,  in  a 
temporary  agency.  This  gentleman,  who  had  already  distin- 
guished himself  in  such  labor  at  home,*  at  once  addressed 
several  large  bodies  in  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Connecticut.  He  appeared  before  the  General  Association  of 
Connecticut,  the  next  year,  1S27,  in  their  meeting  at  Stratford, 
and  made  such  an  impression,  that  they  unanimously 

Resnli-1  //,  That,  this  Association  do  cordially  approve  of  the 
principles  and  objects  of  the  American  Society  for  the  promotion  of 
temperam-e,  and  that  we  will  use  our  influence  as  pastors  to  prevent 
entirely  the  use  and  all  abuses  of  strong  drink. 

*Dr.  Hewitt,  //•/../•  1^ •_'"'>.  had  "  distinguished  himself"  by  maintaining  not  only 
"  at  home  "  but  in  his  exchanges  with  other  pastors,  the  duty  of  entire  abstinence  from 
the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  except  as  a  medicine,  and  as  prescribed  by  a  temperate 
physician.  Committee  of  Publication. 

28 


210  Temperance  Reformation. 

In  their  annual  report  that  year  on  the  state  of  religion,  they 
said  :  "  The  progress  of  intemperance,  which  once  seemed 
beyond  control,  is  beginning  to  receive  a  check.  In  many 
places  the  important  discovery  has  been  made  by  actual  experi- 
ment, that  union  and  decision  among  the  virtuous  part  of  the 
community  in  discountenancing  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  is 
effectual  to  check  its  progress,  to  guard  the  rising  generation 
against  it,  and  to  diminish  very  greatly  its  attendant  evils." 

At  this  period  most  of  the  Congregational  ministers  and 
members  of  churches  had  become  abstainers  from  ardent 
spirits,  but  not  from  vinous  and  fermented  drinks.  It  took  ten 
years  more  of  discipline  and  suffering  to  bring  them  to  this. 

The  pastor  of  the  Stratford  church  at  that  time,  was  the 
Rev.  Joshua  Leavitt,  who,  for  his  clear  understanding 
of  the  subject  and  devotion  to  its  interests,  had  just  been 
appointed  to  an  agency  for  the  American  Society.  He 
visited  thirteen  towns  in  the  state  and  several  in  Massa- 
chusetts, preaching  and  obtaining  pledges  and  donations  ;  but 
being  considered  as  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  office  of  secretary 
to  the  Seamen's  Friend  Society  in  the  city  of  New  York,  he 
was,  after  four  months'  labor,  removed  to  that  station. 

While  in  Stratford,  he  ably  vindicated  the  principle  of  total 
abstinence  in  an  article  published  at  New  Haven  in  the  Chris- 
tian Spectator.  The  Rev.  Nathaniel  He  wit  had  returned  to 
his  pastoral  labors  ;  but,  on  the  14th  of  November,  1827,  he 
was  appointed  to  a  three  years  mission  in  behalf  of  the 
American  Society,  and  was  accordingly  dismissed  from  his 
charge  by  the  Consociation,  greatly  to  the  regret  of  his  people 
and  the  people  of  the  county.  The  United  States,  aye,  the 
world,  was  his  field ;  and  the  amount  of  labor  which  this  son 
of  Congregationalism  performed  in  all  the  large  cities  and 
towns  and  in  Great  Britain,  cannot  be  known  until  the  judg- 
ment day.  At  Hartford,  in  the  succeeding  May,  he  addressed 
the  governor,  legislature  and  a  great  crowd  of  citizens  in  the 
Center  Church,  with  all  the  boldness  of  John  Knox.  His 
subject  was  "  The  Tree  Known  by  its  Fruit."  The  fruits  of 
intemperance  were  all  spread  out  and  laid  at  the  door  of  all 
who  by  example  or  legislation  were  in  any  manner  accessory 
to  them ;  and,  as  was  afterwards  said  of  an  address  by  the 
same  fearless  preacher  of  temperance  and  judgment  to  come, 


Temperance  Reformation.  211 

"  It  hailed  for  about  the  space  of  two  hours,  and  every  stone 
was  of  the  weight  of  a  talent." 

The  earliest  and  most  efficient  county  society  in  the  state 
was  that  of  Middlesex,  organized  in  the  Congregational  Church 
at  Haddam,  September  2,  1828.  It  enrolled  600  members 
pledged  to  total  abstinence  from  ardent  spirits,  (the  extent  of 
the  pledge  in  that  day)  before  there  was  half  that  number  ill 
the  rest  of  the  state.  Every  Congregational  minister  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  county,  and  in  Lyme  in  the  county  of  New 
London,  became  an  active  and  efficient  member.  It  met 
monthly  in  rotation  in  the  parishes.  In  each  town  or  parish 
were  one  or  more  auxiliaries.  Three  of  the  monthly  addresses 
were  printed  and  widely  circulated.  Soon  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious community  were  embued  with  the  proper  spirit.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Middlesex  Consociation  at  Haddam,  October 
26,  1829,  it  was  unanimously 

Itesolved,  That  this  Consociation  do  highly  approve  of  the 
measures  which  have  been  recently  adopted  for  the  suppression  of 
intemperance,  and  that  the  success  of  these  measures  calls  loudly  for 
the  gratitude  of  the  churches  to  God  under  whose  blessing  it  has 
been  attained. 

Resolved,  That  the  Consociation  do  recommend  to  the  members 
of  the  churches  in  their  connection,  total  abstinence  from  the 
common  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  a  union  with  the  temperance 
societies — these  societies  being  the  most  powerful  antidote  to  the 
alarming  evil  of  intemperance,  which  the  providence  of  God  has 
pointed  out  to  his  people. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year,  the  Congregational  minister  of 
Haddam,  delivered  an  address,  "  Putnam  and  the  Wolf,  or  the 
Monster  Destroyed,"  at  Pomfret,  before  the  Windham  County 
Temperance  Society.  Of  this,  more  than  100,000  copies  were 
printed  and  scattered  abroad,  giving  a  new  impulse  to  the 
cause. 

The  Connecticut  State  Temperance  Society  was  organized 
at  Hartford,  May  20,  1829.  The  Rev.  Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D., 
President  of  Yale  College,  was  chosen  president,  Rev.  Calvin, 
Chapin,  D.  D.,  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  and  Rev. 
John  Marsh,  corresponding  secretary.  Its  first  anniversary 
was  held  at  New  Haven,  and  was  addressed  by  Hon.  Timothy 
Pitkin  of  Farmington,  long  a  member  of  congress,  Daniel  Frost} 


212  Temperance  Reformation. 

Esq.,  of  Canterbury,  Hon.  Roger  M.  Sherman  of  Fairfield,  and 
Hon.  Judge  Daggett  of  New  Haven.  Seldom  has  such  an  array 
of  talent  been  brought  to  the  support  of  any  cause.  The 
governor  and  legislature  were  present,  with  most  of  the  clergy 
and  leading  citizens  of  New  Haven.  The  annual  report,  read 
by  the  corresponding  secretary,  presented  the  following  and 
many  other  appalling  facts. 

In  addition  to  large  annual  importations  of  rum  from  the 
West  Indies,  the're  were  in  the  state  two  rum  distilleries  and 
ten  gin  and  whisky  distilleries,  all  doing  a  large  business,  and 
300  smaller  distilleries,  chiefly  cider.  There  were  1026  licensed 
retailers  and  400  licensed  taverners.  A  population  of  275,248 
consumed  annually,  (besides  an  untold  amount  of  cider  and 
wines)  1,238,616  gallons  of  spirituous  liquors,  which,  at  62  1-2 
cents  a  gallon,  cost  the  people  $782,884.95.  Every  twenty- 
fifth  family  among  the  45,000  of  the  state  was  engaged  in 
supplying  the  rest  with  intoxicating  drinks.  As  the  frightful 
result,  there  were  in  the  state  6,881  common  drunkards.  In 
nine  parishes  in  Hartford  county,  there  were  found  by  actual 
visitation,  594  drunkards,  giving  2000  to  the  county.  Not  far 
from  500  drunkards  died  annually  in  the  state,  while,  by  a 
horrid  machinery,  continually  kept  in  motion,  their  places 
were  punctually  filled.  Of  172  paupers  in  Middlesex  county, 
114  were  reduced  to  beggary  by  intemperance  ;  and  the  keeper 
of  the  State  Prison,  at  Wethersfield,  Moses  C.  Pillsbury,  Esq., 
declared  that  all  of  167  prisoners  were  brought,  he  was  satis- 
fied, to  the  commission  of  crime  by  intemperance.  The  great 
foe  to  the  church  and  the  Sabbath,  to  education,  to  sound 
morals  and  the  peace  and  thrift  of  the  community  was  strong 
drink  with  the  licensed  grog  shops.  The  report,  with  its 
accompanying  cheering  intelligence  of  reform,  then  commenc- 
ing and  spreading  throughout  the  United  States,  and  the 
speeches  of  those  distinguished  men,  made  a  deep  impression. 

Hitherto,  the  cause  in  Connecticut  had  been  sustained  chiefly 
by  the  Congregational  ministry  and  members  of  their  congrega- 
tions. Other  denominations,  as  a  general  thing,  had  stood  aloof 
from  it,  and  even  seemed  willing  for  a  time  to  profit  by  dis- 
sensions in  what  had  been  called  "  The  Standing  Order."  But 
they  could  not  appear  in  opposition,  and,  therefore,  took  some 
independent  ground.  The  Hartford  Baptist  Association,  Octo- 


Temperance  Reformation.  213 

ber  14,  1829,  resolved,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  their  body,  the 
time  had  arrived  when  no  preacher  of  the  Gospel  could  either 
habitually,  or  even  occasionally,  except  as  a  medicine,  use 
ardent  spirits  without  greatly  abridging  his  usefulness ;  but  at 
the  same  time  they  resolved  that  "  All  the  churches  were  tem- 
perance societies  by  profession."  This  was  enough  for  them, 
and  precluded  them,  almost  universally,  from  uniting  with 
these  organizations.  The  Episcopal  church  took  no  action  in 
the  matter,  nor  did  her  ministers  and  churches  manifest  any 
special  interest  in  it,  sympathising  much  with  Bishop  Hopkins, 
of  Vermont,  in  his  published  views  of  the  whole  as  at  variance 
with  the  Gospel.  But  one  of  her  most  distinguished  ministers, 
Rev.  J.  S.  Stone,  D.  I).,  of  New  Haven,  delivered  a  thorough 
and  searching  temperance  sermon  before  the  Young  Mens* 
Temperance  Society  of  that  city.  The  Methodist  preachers, 
at  a  camp-meeting  in  Somers,  in  1829,  adopted  resolutions 
commending  it  to  all  their  brethren  to  unite  in  the  temperance 
societies  as  "  a  combination  of  all  religious  parties,  and  no 
religious  party  in  a  good  cause  ;"  and  the  Rev.  Wilbur  Fiske, 
D.  D.,  head  of  the  school  at  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  and  afterwards 
president  of  the  Wesleyan  University,  at  Middletown,  was  a 
giant  in  the  cause.  But,  as  a  general  rule  in  the  towns,  the 
Methodists  opposed  whatever  the  Congregationalists  favored, 
and  furnished  homes  of  refuge  for  disaffected  members.  Sel- 
dom were  they  found  in  a  temperance  meeting;  but  if  they 
suffered  the  rum  party  to  cleave  to  them,  it  was  not  always  to 
their  honor  and  glory,  or  even  their  own  satisfaction.  In  a 
Congregational  church  in  Middlesex  county,  controversy  ran 
high.  The  pastor  said,  "  Sink  or  swim,  rum  must  be  driven  out 
of  this  church."  A  large  disaffected  body  took  refuge  with  the 
Methodists  and  worshiped  there.  The  Congregationalists, 
hearing  of  the  decision  and  boldness  of  Dr.  Fiske,  invited  him 
to  give  them  an  address.  He  consented  to  do  so.  Consterna- 
tion seized  the  Methodists  as  they  heard  of  his  coming,  and 
on  the  appointed  day  they  sent  a  delegation  to  meet  him,  and, 
if  possible,  turn  him  back.  Upon  coming  near  they  besought 
him  not  to  go  on,  saying  to  him,  "  The  Congregationalists  are 
falling  in  pieces  and  we  shall  get  some  of  their  heaviest  men. 
If  you  go  on,  confusion  will  cover  us,  and  our  church  will 


214  Temperance  Reformation. 

fall."  "  Get  out  of  my  way,  brethren, "  said  he,  "  if  the  Metho- 
dist church  stands  on  a  rum  barrel,  the  sooner  it  falls  the 
better,"  and,  putting  spurs  to  his  horse,  on  he  went,  much  to 
the  confusion  of  the  remonstrants.  As  he  ascended,  however, 
his  mantle  fell  upon  his  denomination,  and  the  Methodist 
churches  and  preachers  have  now  long  been  foremost  in  the 
cause. 

Almost  each  successive  General  Association  for  years  adopted 
some  resolution  in  favor  of  temperance  ;  and  its  condition 
entered  into  the  annual  reports  on  the  state  of  religion ;  but 
individual  church  action  was  slow.  The  elder  members,  who 
had  been  accustomed  to  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  in  the  house 
and  the  field,  in  coasting  and  fishing,  in  ship-yards  and  quarries, 
never  considering  it  inconsistent  with  Christian  character  if 
moderately  indulged  in,  though  frequently  called  to  excom- 
municate a  brother  for  drunkenness,  were  slow  to  make  entire 
abstinence  a  term  of  communion  even  to  those  who  should 
come  after  them,  as  being  a  reflection  upon  themselves  and 
their  fathers,  and  a  yoke  too  heavy  to  be  borne.  But  in  the 
numerous  revivals  which  were  then  powerful,  the  entire  aban- 
donment of  spirit-drinking,  as  at  variance  with  the  true  self-de- 
nial of  the  Gospel,  was  demanded  before  any  expression  of 
Christian  hope  would  be  received  as  satisfactory ;  and,  ere 
long,  one  church  after  another  was  found  adopting  it  as  a 
standing  rule,  that  no  person  should  be  admitted  to  church 
fellowship  but  upon  the  principle  of  total  abstinence.  This 
important  action  was  much  hastened  by  the  Rev.  Asahel  Net- 
tleton,  the  great  revival  preacher  of  that  period.  He  narrowly 
watched  the  effect  of  spirit-drinking  upon  awakened  sinners, 
removing  their  anxiety  and  alarm  and  causing  them  to  indulge, 
through  momentary  exhilaration,  a  false  hope ;  and  also  upon 
hopeful  converts,  destroying  their  serious  deportment  and  lead- 
ing them  to  vain  associations.  He  would  not  converse  with 
a  man  who  came  to  know  what  he  should  do  to  be  saved,  if 
his  breath  betrayed  the  use  of  spirits ;  nor  would  he  give 
encouragement  to  any  one  who  professed  conversion,  while 
daily  using  the  alcoholic  stimulant.  In  long  cases  of  deep 
distress  and  earnestly  expressed  desire  to  become  a  Christian 
and  have  the  joy  of  God's  salvation,  he  would,  with  wonderful 


Temperance  Reformation.  215 

skill,  ferret  out  the  secret  indulgence  as  the  only  hindrance,  and 
either  break  it  up,  or  see  the  subject,  as  he  often  did,  tuin  and 
go  away  in  a  rage.  In  1829  he  gave  the  public  his  views  in  a 
letter  through  the  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,  published  at  Boston. 
Wherever  it  was  read,  it  deeply  impressed  ministers  and  mem- 
bers of  churches  with  their  deep  responsibility  to  practice  total 
abstinence,  both  to  save  themselves  and  those  around  them. 

In  1835  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chapin  published  his  prize  essay  on 
sacramental  wines.  He  considered  the  use  of  any  intoxicating 
drink  at  the  Lord's  table  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of  the 
ordinance,  not  demanded  by  the  Master,  and  a  decided  hin- 
drance to  the  temperance  cause.  He  viewed  water  as  the 
emblem  of  purity  and  the  fit  representative  of  the  Gospel. 
But  while  he  excited  attention,  to  no  great  extent  has  fermented 
wine  been  abandoned.  Several  Congregational  churches,  how- 
ever, have  provided  themselves  with  the  unfermented  juice 
of  the  grape,  while  anxiety  has  increased  for  those  wines  which 
are  least  imbued  with  the  intoxicating  principle. 

Into  the  pledge  of  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating 
drinks,  fermented  as  well  as  distilled,  adopted  by  the  National 
Convention  at  Saratoga  Springs,  in  1836,  the  Congregational 
ministers  and  churches  of  Connecticut  at  once  fully  entered, 
and  without  any  special  attention,  cider  went,  among  all 
Christian  families,  into  general  disuse.  White  tumblers  graced 
the  tables  of  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor ;  and 
the  Washingtonian  movement,  in  which  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  miserable  drunkards  were  reclaimed,  was  universally 
acknowledged  with  thankfulness  as  the  extraordinary  and 
gracious  providence  of  God. 

The  reformation  found  many  members  of  churches  in  the 
business  of  importing,  distilling  and  vending  that  which  was 
so  destructive  to  the  community  and  to  the  great  interests  of 
Christ's  Kingdom.  Churches  were  built,  ministers  were  sup- 
ported, and  missionaries  were  sent  forth  by  men  who  said, 
"  By  this  craft  we  have  our  wealth,"  and  whose  traffic  had 
been  owned  as  legitimate  by  the  churches  as  well  as  the 
state.  With  such,  the  conflict  on  the  part  of  ministers  and 
Christian  brethren  was  often  very  severe,  for  were  they  not 
frequently  pious  and  praying  men,  good  friends  and  even  bene- 


216  Temperance  Reformation. 

factors  of  the  minister,  and  how  could  he  rebuke  them  before 
all  ?  But  the  declaration  of  the  National  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  1833,  that  the  traffic  was  morally  wrong,  the  awful 
result  of  the  traffic  as  seen  in  suffering  families  and  ruined 
men,  in  jails,  in  poor  houses,  and  in  murders  ;  and  more  than 
all,  perhaps,  the  taunts  of  the  ungodly  that  such  and  such 
pious  men  and  church  members  sold  rum,  soon  aided  their 
pulpit  remonstrances,  and  in  a  short  time  almost  the  entire 
business  changed  hands,  and  the  principle  was  established  that 
the  traffic  as  well  as  the  use  must  be  abandoned  by  all 
who  would  be  like  Christ.  If,  at  any  time,  deacons  or  other 
influential  men  took  offence  at  the  fidelity  of  the  ministry  and 
would  cause  disturbance,  they  soon  found  themselves  in  an 
unpleasant  position.  A  pastor  of  a  church  in  which  were  two 
of  the  largest  liquor  dealers  of  the  state,  in  a  sermon  fearlessly 
and  boldly  denounced  the  traffic  as  at  variance  with  all  Chris- 
tian character.  The  anger  of  these  brethren  was  greatly 
kindled,  and  as  publicly  they  denounced  him.  They  would 
not  stand  such  preaching.  "  That's  right,"  said  a  cool  by- 
stander." "Do  you  gather  J.  B.  and  T.  S.  and  B.  U., 
(notorious  infidels  and  scoffers,)  and  all  the  drunkards  in  the 
place  together,  and  drive  this  fellow  out  of  town."  Looking 
at  him  for  a  moment  and  seeing  the  drift  of  his  advice,  they 
said  (for  they  were  good  men  at  heart,  though  engaged  in  a  bad 
business,)  "  We'll  do  no  such  thing  ;  we'll  not  be  found  in  such 
company  if  we  never  sell  any  more  rum."  And  so  ended  the 
matter.  In  a  short  time  after,  though  it  had  been  very  lucra- 
tive, they  had  changed  their  business. 

In  this  connection  it  may  not  seem  perfectly  in  place  to  refer 
to  the  legislation  of  Connecticut  on  the  subject  of  temperance  ; 
still,  the  legal  and  moral  action  have  been  so  closely  connected 
that  it  cannot  well  be  passed  without  notice.  INeither  the 
Congregational  ministers  or  churches,  nor  any  other  class  have 
ever  asked  for  the  aid  of  legislation  to  compel  men  to  be  tem- 
perate. Severe  as  were  the  early  laws  of  Connecticut  upon 
habits  and  morals,  no  restraints  have  been  laid  by  law  upon 
drinking,  but  there  have  been  upon  selling.  From  the  earliest 
period,  the  state  adopted  the  English  excise  system,  licensed 
individuals  to  keep  public  houses  and  sell  spirituous  liquors  to 


Temperance  Reformation.  217 

lodgers  and  travelers.     Revenue  was  thus  raised  to  the  state 
and  public  houses  were  regulated  by  law  ;  and  as  men  of  good 
morals  were    required  to  keep  them,  deacons  and  members  of 
churches  became,  to  a  considerable  extent,  in  Connecticut,  the 
license'd  keepers.     Over  all  the  rest  of  the  community  was  a 
strong  prohibitory  law,  guarded  strictly  by  the  selectmen  and 
town  constables.     But   here,  under  this  solemn  commission, 
the  infernal  traffic  held  its  revelries  for  two  centuries.     Here 
were  manufactured  out  of  sound  men  and  useful  fathers  and 
sons,  all  that  long  line  of  drunkards  who  went  in  terrible  pro- 
cession,   year  after  year,  to  the  grave,  dragging  down  with 
them  and  after  them  many  a  promising  and  lovely  household. 
The  license  system  held  its  monopoly  of  Satan's  business  until 
Maine  broke  its  power  and  cast  it  off  in  1851.     Connecticut 
followed   in   1854.     The  law  in   this  state  took  effect  on  the 
first  of  August,  and  never,  perhaps,  was  there  a  greater  revolution 
in  public  morals   and  domestic  comfort  than  was  experienced 
throughout  the  state.     At  a  public  meeting  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  in  the  winter  of  that  year,  Gov.  Button,  then  governor 
of  the  state,  testified  that  not  a  grog  shop  to  his  knowledge, 
had    been   found  open    in  the   state   since  the  law  came  into 
force  ;  that  no  drunkard  had  been  publicly  seen  in  the  streets; 
that  crime  had  been  materially  diminished  ;  that  hundreds  of 
families  which  had  been  great  sufferers  had  been  comfortably 
supplied  ;   that  public  security  had  greatly  increased,  and  that 
opposition    to  the  law  was  scarcely  heard  of.     In  these  opera- 
tions of  the  law,  the  ministry  and  the  churches  of  all  denomi- 
nations greatly  rejoiced;   the  Sabbath  was  saved  from  deep 
desecration,  Sabbath-schools  were  filled  up  with  children  from 
once  drunken  families,  and  the  sanctuaries  opened  their  portals 
to  men  who  had  long   spent   their  Sabbaths  in  the  dram-shop, 
or  at  home  in   stupid  sensuality.     The  law  still  remains  unre- 
pealed  and  unimpaired  ;  and  if  "eternal  vigilance  is  the  price 
of  liberty,"  so  is  it  of  the  enforcement  of  the  law.     If  good 
men  grow  weary  of  watching  their  sacred  trust — if  violations 
there  are — (and  what  law  of  God  or  man  is  not  daily  broken) 
— if  public  officers,  secretly  unfriendly  to  the  law  and  in  secret 
alliance  with  offenders,  have  winked  at  the  violation,  and  there 
have  been  few  prosecutions — if  politicians  and  office-seekers, 

29 


218  Temperance  Reformation. 

desirous  of  revolution,  have  heard  all  the  complaints  of  the 
disaffected  and  drawn  them  in  their  train,  and  threatened  its 
overthrow  ;  and  fears  of  political  changes  have  kept  even  the 
best  friends  of  the  law  from  action — if  the  large  towns  arid 
cities  filling  up  with  a  foreign  population  and  subject  to  constant 
and  great  excitements  seem  to  be  beyond  control,  yet  the  great 
principles  of  temperance  are  firmly  fixed  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  :  the  law  spreads  over  the  state  its  broad,  protecting 
shield — it  gives  license  to  none,  for  a  price,  to  do  evil — it 
stamps  with  its  true  mark,  before  all  men,  that  traffic  which  is 
a  traffic  in  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men — it  deters  all  good 
men,  conscientious  men,  from  engaging  in  it — it  enables  very 
many  of  the  towns  of  the  state  and  all  who  please  to  keep 
themselves  perfectly  free  from  it ;  and  if  the  moral  and  Chris- 
tian community  do  their  duty — if  the  church  sets  an  example 
of  entire  disuse  in  all  her  habitations  and  labors — if  the  pulpit 
speaks  out  its  thunders,  and  the  Sabbath-schools,  those  blessed 
nurseries  of  good,  train  up  the  children  and  youth  to  a  right 
observance  of  the  moral  and  physical  laws  of  the  great  Creator, 
the  future  of  Connecticut,  will,  it  is  believed,  be  becoming 
the  glorious  inheritance  which  the  fathers  have  given. 

Do  any  flauntingly  say,  all  has  been  humbug,  delusion,  im- 
position !  Connecticut  is  as  bad  as  ever ;  there  is  more  drink- 
ing than  ever  !  More  than  ever  ?  Is  it  so  ?  Where  are  those 
large  rum  distilleries,  and  those  mammoth  Warehouse-point 
gin-distilleries,  and  those  one  thousand  cider  mills,  and  the 
three  hundred  cider-brandy  distilleries  of  former  days  ?  Where 
the  mugs  of  cider  which  were  on  every  dinner  table,  and  the 
decanters  of  wine  and  brandy  which  were  on  every  sideboard, 
at  every  ministerial  meeting,  at  conventions  and  ordinations, 
at  births  and  baptisms,  weddings  and  funerals  ?  Where  the 
friendly  greetings  of  every  visitant  and  traveler,  and  almost 
every  man  on  business,  with  something  to  drink  ?  Where  the 
bottles  under  every  tree  in  the  hay  and  harvest  field,  in  the 
workshop  and  shipyard,  at  raisings  and  huskings  ?  and  where 
the  regular  rum  rations  in  every  stone-quarry,  and  on  board 
every  coaster  and  merchant  ship?  and  where  the  594  miserable, 
bloated,  tottering  drunkards  in  nine  small  parishes  in  one 
county?  Gone  !  nearly  all  gone!  The  plague  spots  of  the 


Temperance  Reformation.  219 

days  of  our  fathers  are  wiped  out,  though  enough  remains  to 
move  our  fears  and  call  for  repentance.  What  the  cause  has 
poured  into  the  bosom  of  the  churches,  what  of  health  and 
wealth,  what  of  physical  energy,  what  of  moral  power,  what 
of  ability  to  tread  all  enemies  under  their  feet,  and  what  higher 
enjoyments  of  the  presence  of  their  great  Head  and  His  Holy 
Spirit  can  never  be  known.  A  Congregational  minister,  or  a 
member  of  a  Congregational  church,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  some  other  denominations  in  Connecticut,  now  habit- 
ually using  intoxicating  liquors,  or  giving  or  selling  them  to 
others  as  a  beverage,  is  a  rare  spectacle.  Thanks  be  to  God 
for  the  timely  redemption. 

TKMPERANCE   PUBLICATIONS    ISSUED  IN  CONNECTICUT   BETWEEN    1806 

AND    1840.* 

Fatal  Effects  of  Ardent  Sprits,  a  sermon  by  Ebenezer  Porter, 

of  Washington,  Litchfield  county,         ....      1806. 

Address  on  Intemperance,  by  the  Fairfield  Consociation,      .     1812. 

Entire   Abstinence   the   only  Infallible  Antidote,  by  Calvin 

Chapin,  D.D., 1826. 

Six  Sermons  on  the  Nature,  Signs,  Evils  and  Remedy  of  In- 
temperance, by  Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.,  of  Litchfield,  .  1826. 

Address  before  the  Canterbury  Temperance  Society,  by  Daniel 

Frost,  Esq., 1826. 

-  Norwich  Falls  Society,  by  W.  Hines,         .     .     1827. 

Article  on  total  Abstinence  in  the  Christian  Spectator,  by 

Rev.  Joshua  Leavitt, 1828. 

Address  at  Haddam,  by  Linus  Parmelee,  Esq.,         .         .         1828. 
—Before  the  Middlesex  Society,  by  Charles  Griswold,  Esq.,  1828. 

Total  Abstinence  from  Ardent  Spirits :  an  Address_delivered  by 
request  of  the  Young  Men's  Temperance  Society  of  New 
Haven.  By  Leonard  Bacon,  Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in 
New  Haven.  1829. 

Letter  of  Asahel  Nettleton  on  Temperance  and  Revivals,     .     1829. 

Temperance  Destructive  of  National  "Welfare,  by  Rev.  Joel 

Mann,  Suffield,         .         . 1829. 

Evil  and  Cure  of  Intemperance,  a  sermon,  by  the  Rev.  Erastus 

Ripley,         .  .         ...         .         .         .       1829. 

Putnam  and  the  Wolf,  or  the  Monster  Destroyed,  an  address 

at  Pomfret,  by  Rev.  John  Marsh,        ,%       .         .         .       1829. 

*This  Catalogue,  though  made  with  much  care,  is  doubtless  imperfect. — Com.  of 
Pub. 


220  Temperance  Reformation. 

Appeal  to  the  Professors  of  Religion  on  the  Use  of  Ardent 

Spirits,  by  Rev.  John  Marsh, 1829. 

Address  to  the  Middlesex  Temperance  Society,  by  E.  Selden, 

Esq.,         .......     1829. 

The  Rum  Drinking  Christian,  a  short  sermon,  by  Rev.  John 

Marsh,  ......  1830. 

Only  This  Once,  a  short  poem,  by  Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney,  1830. 
Address  before  the  Wintonbury  Temperance  Society,  by 

Francis  Gillette,  Esq.,  ....  1830. 

Address  at  Norwich,  by  Rev.  C.  "W.  Denison,  .  .  1830. 

Address  to  the  Young  Mens'  Temperance  Society,  at  New 

Haven,  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Stone,  D.  D.,  .  .  1830. 

Report  of  the  Connecticut  State  Temperance  Society,  .  1830. 
Report  of  the  Hartford  County  Society,  .  .  1831. 

Appeal  to  Christians  on  Using  and  Vending  Ardent  Spirits, 

by  Rev.  Joseph  Harvey,  ....      1831. 

Bible  Doctrine  of  Temperance,  by  Rev.  G.  T.  Davis,  Hart- 
ford, .......     1831- 

The  Upas  Tree,  a  hymn,  by  Mrs.  Sigourney,  .  .  1831* 

Address  before  the  Hartford  County  Society^  by  S.  Sargent, 

M.D.,  .  .  .  .  .  .  1831. 

The  Only  Safe  Expedient,  a  sermon,  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 

Spring,  of  East  Hartford,  .  .  .  .1832. 

The  Christian  Rumseller  in  his  Closet,  by  Mrs  Sigourney,  1832. 
The  Intemperate,  a  tale,  by  Mrs.  Sigourney,  .  .  1833. 

Offence  of  Strong  Drink,  a  sermon,  by  Rev.  Edwin  Hall, 

D.  D.,  Norwalk,  .  .  .  .  .1834. 

Second  Declaration  of  Independence,  by  Rev.  John  Marsh,  1834. 
Prize  Essay  on  Sacramental  Wines,  by  Rev.  Calvin  Chapin, 

D.  D.,  of  Rocky  Hill, 1835. 

Rev.  Joseph  Harvey's  Remarks  at  a  County  Meeting,  .  1837. 
Discourse  on  the  Traffic  in  Spirituous  Liquors,  by  Rev. 

Leonard   Bacon,   Pastor  of    the  Frist   Church  in  New 

Haven,  .  .  .  .  .  1837. 

Is  it  Right  to  Use  Intoxicating  Liquors  at  the  Present  Day,  a 

sermon,  by  Rev.  Samuel  Andrew,  Woodbury,        .         .  1840. 


PASTORS  AND  STATED  SUPPLIES. 


BY  REV.    GEO.   P.    PRUDDEN,  WATERTOWN. 


It  has  been  a  custom,  nearly  uniform  from  the  beginning  of 
the  churches  of  this  state,  to  have  their  ministers  duly  install- 
ed over  them  as  Pastors. 

To  some  extent,  however,  an  opposite  course  obtains.  In 
some  quarters  there  is  a  disposition  to  supersede  this  ministry 
of  pastors,  by  a  ministry  of  stated  supplies ; — men  employed 
to  perform  the  duties  of  a  pastor,  but  not  inducted,  in  any  ap- 
propriate way  into  the  pastoral  office. 

That  it  is  eminently  fit  and  proper,  that  one  who  in  any 
church  exercises  the  functions  of  a  Pastor,  should  be  duly  in- 
ducted by  some  appropriate  form  of  installation  into  the  pas- 
toral office,  the  following  considerations  will  perhaps  evince. 

I.  The  office  is  one  involving  important  responsibilities, 
which  ought,  by  a  process  of  installation,  to  be  recognized  and 
pointed  out.  A  pastor  is  one  appointed  to  the  spiritual  over- 
sight of  a  flock  of  Christ's  ransomed  sheep  ;  one  whose  duty 
is,  "  to  feed  a  church  of  God,  which  He  purchased  with  His  own 
blood."  To  him  is  committed  as  a  trust,  that  "  ministry  of 
reconciliation,"  through  which  in  Christ  Jesus  sinners  are  be- 
ing reconciled  to  God. 

Such  a  position  is  one  of  very  great  responsibility.  The 
issues  involved  look  forward  through  an  eternity  for  their  full 
development. 

And  the  trust  is  committed  to  the  hands  of  one  who  is  a 
mere  man,  subject  to  all  human  frailties  and  imperfections. 
That  such  a  one  is  to  receive  such  a  trust,  renders  it  eminently 
fit  and  proper  that  he  should,  on  receiving  it,  be  reminded  in 
some  public  way  of  the  responsibility,  and  of  his  duty.  He 
should  enter  upon  it  through  some  appropriate  process,  in 
which  he  is  required  openly  to  accept  the  trust  involved, 
and  is  openly  charged,  and  openly  covenants  to  be  faithful  to 


222  Pastors  and  Stated  Supplies. 

its  duties.  The  customary  services  of  an  installation  consti- 
tute such  a  process ;  and  to  dispense  with  them  entirely,  with- 
out providing  any  substitute,  as  is  done  by  those  whose  minis- 
ters are  mere  stated  supplies,  must  be  beyond  measure  unwise 
and  inexpedient. 

II.  The  scriptural  theory  or  the  pastoral  office  seems  to  in- 
volve the  neceesity.  not  only  of  election  to  it,  but  of  introduction 
into  it. 

A  pastor  is  an  officer  in  a  local  church.  Hence  it  is  emi- 
nently fit  and  proper,  that  the  church  to  whom  he  is  to 
minister,  should  by  their  vote  designate  to  the  office  the  man 
of  their  choice. 

But  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel  is,  that  such  a  pastor  holds  an 
office,  and  a  trust,  committed  to  him  not  by  the  church,  but  by 
God  himself.  The  pastoral  office  is  Christ's,  and  has  to  do 
with  the  enlargement  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  the  earth.  Paul's 
charge  to  some  who  held  the  office,  was,  "  take  heed  to  your- 
selves, and  to  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  made 
you  overseers '."  This  teaches  us,  that  however  he  may  be 
voted,  nominated  or  appointed  to  the  office,  the  trust  that  the 
true  pastor  receives,  is  one  committed  to  his  hands  by  the  Ho- 
ly Ghost.  The  vote  appointing  him  conies  from  the  church 
and  congregation  to  which  he  ministers,  but  the  office  com- 
mitted to  him  is  from  above. 

Those  who  compare  the  office  of  a  pastor  to  that  of  a  busi- 
ness agent  of  a  mercantile  house,  regarding  him  as  employed 
by  the  congregation,  for  a  definite  salary,  to  do  a  certain  work 
for  them,  entirely  mistake  the  nature  of  the  office.  The  work 
of  a  pastor  is  work  for  Christ.  He  cannot  be  a  faithful  pastor 
except  as  he  daily  asks  his  Lord  and  Master  in  reference  to  the 
work,  "Lord  what  will  thou  have  me  to  do."  Whatever  he 
clearly  discerns  to  be  the  will  of  Christ,  in  reference  to  that 
work,  he  is  to  do,  whether  it  be  the  wish  of  those  who  pay  his 
salary  or  not.  The  church  elects  and  employs  him,  and  supports 
him  for  this  express  purpose,  that  he  may  do  the  work  of  Christ 
among  them. 

Since  such  is  the  nature  of  the  pastor's  office,  since  it  is  an 
office  that  comes  from  Christ — the  oversight  of  a  flock  com- 
mitted to  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is  not  only  eminently  fit 


Pastors  and  Stated  Supplies.  223 

and  proper,  but  exceedingly  important,  that  when  one  assumes 
this  office,  there  should  be,  in  addition  to  this  vote  appointing 
him,  some  religious  service  that  will  fitly  represent  to  him  the 
office  and  trust  which  he  receives  from  above. 

That  there  should  be  such  a  service  is  a  direct  inference 
from  the  nature  of  the  office.  The  scriptures  have  not  dis- 
tinctly taught  us  what  this  service  shall  be  ;  leaving  that  to 
human  discretion ;  but  when  the  churches  by  a  custom  that 
has  been  observed  with  great  uniformity  for  generations  and 
centuries,  have  established  such  a  service — a  service  precisely 
adapted  and  peculiarly  appropriated  to  the  end  in  view,  this 
custom,  among  those  with  whom  it  is  established,  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  divine  ordinance. 

It  is  not  divine  in  the  sense  that  it  may  not  be  changed,  but 
divine  as  human  governments  are  a  divine  ordinance.  The 
nature  of  the  pastoral  office  proves  it  to  be  the  divine  will  that 
there  be  some  process  of  induction  into  it  that  shall  represent 
the  fact  that  the  office  is  from  God,  and  when  such  a  process 
has  been  established  by  usage,  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  di- 
vine will  that  it  shall  not  be  set  aside,  except  as  something 
else  is  substituted  equally  fitted  to  the  same  end. 

If  serious  evils  have  blended  with  the  ordinary  process  of 
installation,  they  should  be  changed ;  if  sinful  usages  have 
crept  in,  they  should  be  reformed.  But  if  not,  if  the  customary 
services  are  eminently  fitted  to  the  end  in  view,  so  much  so 
that  human  wisdom  can  devise  nothing  fitter,  then  to  set 
them  aside  entirely,  without  any  substitute,  to  remove  from 
what  is  virtually  the  pastoral  office  whatever  points  to  its  re- 
lations to  God,  must  be  to  treat  with  contempt  these  relations, 
and  therefore  must  be  plainly  contrary  to  the  will  of  God. 

Serious  evil  has  come,  from  mixing  up  this  question  with 
that  of  permanency  of  pastors.  With  many,  the  one  great  ar- 
gument for  pastoral  installations  is  that  thus  the  ministry  will 
be  rendered  more  permanent.  With  many,  again,  this  very 
permanency  which  it  promises  to  give,  is  the  one  great  argu- 
ment against  such  installations.  All  this,  however,  is  a  diver- 
sion from  the  real  issue.  The  question  of  permanency  is  a 
distinct  question,  standing  on  its  own  merits.  And  however 
desirable  it  might  be,  were  this  possible,  that  every  pastor 


224  Pastors  and  Stated  Supplies. 

should  remain  for  life  in  his  first  field  ;  yet  long  usage  has  set- 
tled it,  as  the  decision  both  of  ministers  and  churches,  that  it  is 
neither  desirable  nor  expedient  that  a  pastor  shall  remain  in 
any  field  beyond  the  time,  when,  from  any  cause  whatever,  his 
usefulness  has  ceased.  This  decision,  however,  does  not  in 
any  degree  weaken  the  position  that  he  who  acts  the  part  of  a 
pastor,  should  be  properly  inducted  into  the  pastoral  office. 

III.  The  opposite  custom  is  liable  t')  serious  evils  and  dan- 
gers, against  which  every  church  ought  to  be  on  its  guard.  At 
these,  our  space  will  allow  merely  a  glance. 

1.  This  custom  of  receiving  a  ministry  of  mere  stated  sup- 
plies, will  cause  men  to  be  employed  in  the  pastoral  office,  who 
have  not  in  any  public  way  been  charged  with  its  responsibili- 
ties, nor  instructed  into  its  duties,  nor  required  to  make  promises 
of  fidelity. 

2.  It  will   tend  to  degrade  the   office  of   pastor  by   giving 
prevalence    to  the   idea  that  it  is  simply  a  business    relation, 
founded    upon  a  mere  business  contract  between   the  acting 
minister  and  those  who  employ  him. 

3.  It  will  tend  to  weaken  and  corrupt  the  church,  by  throw- 
ing the  choice  of  the   officiating  pastor  into  the  hands  of  the 
Society  and  perhaps  of  a  mere    society's  committee,  thus  de- 
priving the   church  of  its  just  share  in  electing  its  pastor,  and 
exposing   it  to  be  under   the  ministrations  of  one  not  chosen 
with  any  reference  to  its  own  edification. 

4.  It  will  tend  to  interrupt  that  beautiful    fellowship  of  the 
churches,  which  exhibits  and   expresses  itself  so   fitly  in  the 
various  councils  that  have  to  do  with   the  settlement  and  dis- 
mission of  pastors.     One  most  pleasant  result  of  the  present 
system  of  installations,  is,  that  it  tends  to  bring  the  neighboring 
Pastors  and  churches  into  full  acquaintance  with  a  new  pastor 
at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry. 

5.  It  will  expose  the  churches  to  be  imposed    upon  by  un- 
worthy ministers.     An  installing  council  requires  a  stranger, 
coming  into  any  neighborhood,  at  once  to  show  his  credentials. 

6.  It  will  expose  the  churches  to  the  assault  of  unexpected 
heresies.     A  church  and  congregation  who  have  simply  heard 
a  minister  preach  a  few  Sabbaths,  have  no  means  whatever  of 
assuring  themselves  that  he  is  not  holding  in  reserve  fatal  er- 


Pastors  and  Stated  Supplies.  225 

rors.  In  this  matter  they  can  by  no  means  afford  to  dispense 
with  the  safeguard  of  an  appropriate  examination  before  an 
installing  council. 

For  these  reasons,  among  others,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
churches  will  adhere  to  past  usage  in  this  matter,  and  earnestly 
seek  for  themselves  pastors  duly  installed,  rather  than  mere 
stated  supplies. 


30 


HISTORY    AND    RESULTS    OF    THE    DIFFERENT 

METHODS  OF  RAISING  THE  SALARIES 

OF  MINISTERS  IN  CONNECTICUT. 


BY    REV.    HIRAM    P.    ARMS,    NORWICH    TOWN. 


In  the  first  settlement  of  the  state  all  the  inhabitants  were 
substantially  of  the  same  faith.  They  all  had  a  common  in- 
terest in  maintaining  the  institutions  of  religion.  All  were 
therefore  justly  required  to  contribute  according  to  their  ability 
for  the  support  of  the  church  as  well  as  the  state.  Both  were 
constituent  parts  of  the  same  commonwealth.  Not  only  were 
the  men  of  that  day  required  to  support  the  ministry  of  the  es- 
tablished church,  but  they  were  bound,  under  a  penalty  of 
three  pounds  for  every  instance  of  voluntary  neglect,  to  attend 
public  worship  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  on  days  of  fasting  and 
of  thanksgiving  appointed  by  the  civil  authority. 

At  an  early  day,  however,  provision  was  made  that  all  sober 
orthodox  persons,  dissenting  from  the  Congregational  churches, 
should  be  allowed  peaceably  to  worship  in  their  own  way. 
Still  they  were  required  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  "  the 
standing  order," 

As  the  number  of  dissenters  increased,  complaint  was  made 
of  the  injustice  of  taxing  men  to  support  a  church  on  whose 
ministry  they  did  not  attend.  The  Separates  made  this  a  mat- 
ter of  conscience,  and  refused  to  pay  the  assessment.  Some  of 
them  consented  to  be  imprisoned  rather  than  pay  their  ecclesi- 
astical tax.  Underlying  the  action  of  the  Separates,  with  all 
their  fanaticism,  was  the  principle  of  true  religious  liberty. 
But  the  Christian  world  was  not  then  prepared  for  its  full  de- 
velopment. The  Congregational  churches,  however,  were  the 
first  of  all  established  churches,  to  respect  the  rights  of  the  mi- 
nority, and  to  release  dissenters  from  contributing  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  state  religion. 


Methods  of  raising  the  Salaries  of  Ministers.         227 

In  1727,  Episcopalians  were  by  law  allowed  to  draw  from  the 
public  treasury,  for  the  support  of  their  own  ministry,  a  sum 
equal  to  that  which  they  had  paid.  They  were  also  permitted 
to  impose  a  tax  upon  their  members  to  meet  the  expenses  of 
their  separate  organization. 

Two  years  later,  in  1729,  Quakers  and  Baptists,  on  certain 
conditions,  were  exempted  from  the  support  of  the  Congregation- 
al churches.  In  1784  this  exemption  extended  to  all  dissent- 
ers of  whatever  denomination.  Every  man  was  required  to 
contribute  to  the  support  of  public  worship,  somewhere,  accord- 
ing to  his  ability,  but  he  might  choose  his  own  place  of  wor- 
ship, and  lend  his  support  to  the  ministry  which  he  preferred. 

These  laws  continued  in  operation  without  material  altera- 
tion till  the  session  of  1821. 

Meantime,  as  other  denominations  increased,  much  dissatis- 
faction was  expressed  at  the  prominence  given  to  the  Congre- 
gregational  churches.  They  still  constituted  a  church  estab- 
lishment, and  as  such  were  subject  to  not  a  little  undeserved 
odium. 

By  the  revision  of  1821,  all  denominations  of  Christians  are 
put  upon  the  same  footing.  No  man  is  now  a  member  of  any 
ecclesiastical  society  till  he  voluntarily  connects  himself  with 
it.  Formerly,  one  would  withdraw  from  a  society  by  lodging 
a  certificate  with  the  clerk  that  he  belonged  to  another  society, 
— but  he  could  not  "sign  off"  to  nothing.  At  present  a  man 
may  withhold  his  support  from  all  religious  institutions,  and 
enjoy  the  collateral  advantage  of  them,  at  the  expense  of  his 
neighbors. 

Societies  still  have  authority  to  impose  a  tax  upon  the  prop- 
erty of  their  members,  and  some  continue  to  do  so,  though 
most  depend  on  voluntary  contributions  in  one  form  or  an- 
other. Various  methods  are  employed  to  meet  the  annual  ex- 
penses of  our  societies.  The  most  common  mode  is,  by  the 
rent  of  pews  from  year  to  year  to  the  highest  bidder.  Some- 
times a  valuation  is  apprised  on  the  pews,  and  the  applicants  bid 
for  a  choice.  In  a  few  of  our  churches  where  pews  are  owned  by 
individuals  as  real  estate,  resort  is  had  to  subscription  or  taxation. 

Formerly,  and  within  the  present  century,  the  seats  were 
assigned  by  a  committee  of  the  society  to  the  different  families 


228         Methods  of  raising  the  Salaries  of  Ministers. 

according  to  some  not  very  definite  rule  of  dignity, — a  process 
which  was  called  "  dignifying  the  seats."  This  was  always  a 
source  of  not  a  little  dissatisfaction,  which  is  avoided  by  our 
modern  method. 

It  was  feared  by  good  men,  that  the  repeal  under  our  present 
constitution,  of  all  laws  which  were  designed  to  favor  the 
Congregational  churches,  and  which  required  all  men  to  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  public  worship  somewhere,  would 
prove  disastrous  to  the  cause  of  religion.  These  fears  have 
not  been  realized. 

The  voluntary  system  has  been  found  by  experience  to  work 
better  in  every  respect  than  taxation.  It  has  lopped  off  many 
of  the  dead  branches  which  were  unsightly  in  themselves  and 
impeded  the  growth  of  our  churches.  It  allows  men  who  are 
not  of  us  to  go  out  from  us,  and  exhibit  themselves  in  their 
true  characters.  It  has  relieved  the  Congregational  churches 
from  the  odium  which  attached  to  them  as  creatures  arid  pro- 
teges of  the  state.  In  the  mean  time,  it  has  infused  into  them 
new  life,  and  very  much  increased  their  strength  and  efficiency. 

AMOUNT    OF    SALARIES. 

Our  churches  have  been  disposed,  from  the  first,  to  give  a 
comfortable  support  to  their  ministers — not  to  surround  them 
with  the  luxuries  of  life,  but  to  provide  for  their  reasonable 
wants.  At  the  union  of  the  two  colonies  of  New  Haven  and 
Connecticut  in  1665,  the  united  colony  contained  about  1700 
families,  eight  or  nine  thousand  inhabitants,  who  enjoyed  the 
instruction  of  about  twenty  ministers,  an  average  of  one  to 
every  eighty-five  families.  Some  of  the  stronger  churches 
had  two  ministers,  a  pastor  and  a  teacher,  besides  ruling  elders. 
In  some  of  the  new  plantations  thirty  or  forty  families  sustain- 
ed a  minister. 

The  salaries  of  these  ministers  would  range  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  pounds.  In  addition  to  their  salaries  they  were 
accustomed  to  receive,  at  the  time  of  their  installation,"  a  set- 
tlement "  of  two  hundred  pounds  or  more,  which,  invested  in 
a  homestead,  formed  an  important  item  in  their  means  of  sup- 
port. They  were  also  exempted  from  taxation.  If  any  min- 
ister felt  himself  aggrieved  by  too  scanty  allowance,  although 


Methods  of  raising  the  Salaries  of  Ministers.         229 

it  was  matter  of  agreement,  he  might  apply  to  the  General  As- 
sembly, whose  duty  it  was  to  order  his  society  to  furnish  him 
suitable  maintenance. 

By  the  revised  statutes  of  1821,  ministers  were  allowed  to 
hold  property  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars 
exempt  from  taxation.  This  law  has  since  been  repealed,  and 
no  discrimination  is  now  made  in  favor  of  ministers.  Nor 
have  they  any  reason  to  complain  of  this. 

The  salaries  paid  to  ministers  in  former  times  were  nomi- 
nally less  than  they  receive  at  the  present  day.  But  if  we 
consider  the  cost  of  living  in  those  times,  with  labor  at  four- 
teen cents  a  day,  and  corn  at  nine  pence  a  bushel,  we  must 
conclude  that  the  earlier  ministers  received  a  more  liberal  sup- 
port than  their  successors.  Many  of  them  accumulated  hand- 
some estates,  and  few  of  them  suffered  any  greater  privations 
than  their  people. 

Salaries  will  necessarily  regulate  themselves  by  the  cost  of 
living.  They  will  rise  or  fall  as  the  value  of  money  is  dimin- 
ished or  increased.  Few  ministers  of  the  present  day  are  ac- 
cumulating property,  and  few,  we  cannot  say  none,  are  subject 
to  the  privations  of  actual  poverty.  They  who  gather  much 
have  nothing  over,  and  they  who  gather  little  have  no  lack. 
They  gather  every  man  according  to  his  eating. 


PARSONAGES  AND  PERMANENT  FUNDS. 

At  the  organization  of  churches,  and  of  parishes  or  ecclesias- 
tical societies,  in  the  settlement  of  towns,  it  was  customary  in 
order  to  secure  a  home  for  the  minister,  to  set  off  to  him  a  certain 
portion  of  land,  and  aid  him  in  building  a  house.  This  was 
expected  to  be  done  as  a  matter  of  course,  among  their  first 
acts  with  reference  to  the  establishment  of  the  ministry  among 
them.  The  incorporation  of  any  new  town  or  ecclesiastical 
society  was  not  only  controlled  by  the  Legislature  ;  it  was 
also  made  to  depend  very  much  on  the  ability  arid  disposition 
of  the  inhabitants  to  support  the  gospel,  without  unduly  weak- 
ening the  towns  or  societies  to  which  they  had  previously  be- 
longed, since  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  ever  considered 
essential  to  the  prosperity  of  the  civil  state  in  every  community. 
The  grant  of  land  by  each  town  to  its  first  minister,  when  land 
was  of  little  comparative  value,  by  vesting  the  title  in  him, 
(as  was  right,  because  its  chief  value  arose  from  the  improve- 
ments he  made  upon  it,)  left  the  people  without  a  home  for  the 
next  or  any  succeeding  minister.  As  the  great  idea  they  had 
in  mind  was  that  of  a  permanent  ministry,  and  of  course  they 
saw  the  propriety  of  making  provision  for  it,  the  next  move- 
ment for  their  second  or  any  subsequent  minister,  was,after  suffi- 
cient trial  of  his  gifts  and  acceptableness,  to  offer  him  a  certain 
sum  for  a  "  settlement,"  wherewith  he  might  provide  himself  a 
home  besides  his  regular  salary.  If  this  had  continued  to  be  the 
arrangement,  as  it  has  in  some  places,  till  within  thirty  or  forty 
years  past,  it  would  have  been  an  important  check  on  the  peo- 
ple, against  moving  for  a  dismission  of  their  pastors. 

After  the  practice  of  offering  settlements  was  done  away, 
ministers  themselves  made  arrangements  to  provide  a  home 
from  their  own, — too  often  scanty  resources,  even  by  run- 
ning into  debt.  But  their  own  changing  spirit  and  the  insta- 
bility of  their  people,  have  come  to  make  this  a  useless,  an 
embarrassing  and  a  losing  operation.  Hiring  such  dwellings 
as  could  be  obtained  was  the  next  resort.  At  length  the  plan 


Parsonages  and  Permanent  Funds.  231 

was  adopted  of  securing  a  parsonage  by  the  society  itself, — in. 
some  few  cases,  by  individuals  for  the  use  of  their  successive 
ministers, — a  measure  quite  consonant  and  almost  indispensable 
with  the  too  prevalent  custom  of  frequent  change  and  an  un- 
settled ministry.  With  some  pastors  there  is  still  a  decided 
preference  for  the  more  ancient  custom  of  a  minister's  having  a 
house  of  his  own;  but  if  the  people  are  restless,  difficult  to 
please,  and  changeable,  as  they  frequently  become  even  after  a 
long  pastorate,  that  arrangement  accomplishes  little  to  secure 
permanency.  Until  the  evils  of  frequent  change  are  thorough- 
ly proved,  in  disaster  and  decline  by  many  churches,  and  a  re- 
action takes  place,  the  only  convenient  course  is  to  have  a  par- 
sonage provided,  to  make  dismission  and  re-settlement  as  easy 
as  possible.  In  the  present  state  of  things,  some  are  decidedly 
of  the  opinion,  that  parsonages  are  rather  favorable  to  perma- 
nence than  otherwise. 

There  are  115  ecclesiastical  societies,  that  own  116  parson- 
age houses,  the  aggregate  value  of  which  is  given  in  the  footing, 
with  the  permanent  funds. 

Some  ecclesiastical  societies  have  possessed  funds  for  the 
support  of  the  ministry  from  the  beginning.  In  some  instan- 
ces lands  were  reserved  for  that  purpose  at  the  first  settlement 
of  the  towns.  But  more  generally  permanent  funds  have  been 
established  by  voluntary  subscription  or  by  legacies.  The  sup- 
port of  the  gospel,  partly  in  this  way,  seems  to  be  more  general 
in  Connecticut  than  in  any  other  state.  To  favor  this  object, 
the  Legislature  has  sometimes  incorporated  banks  with  a  clause 
in  their  charter,  allowing  ecclesiastical  societies  a  certain  propor- 
tion of  their  stock  if  they  desired,  exclusive  of  all  other  appli- 
cants. 

The  amount  of  funds  held  for  the  support  of  the  ministry  in 
a  few  cases  comes  up  to  $10,000,  in  one  the  value  is  $50,000. 
More  generally,  they  vary  from  a  few  hundred  to  five  or  six 
thousand.  The  number  of  ecclesiastical  societies  that  hold 
such  funds  in  the  state  is  197,  and  the  whole  amount  of  funds 
is  $820,51 1,34. 

This  amount  of  property  is  owned  and  improved  by  all  these 
different  corporations,  and  not  by  any  one  ecclesiastical  or  con- 
solidated establishment ;  it  is  owned  and  controlled  by  the  peo- 


232  Parsonages  and  Permanent  Funds. 

pie  and  not  by  any  association,  conference,  convention,  bishop  or 
pope.  It  is  safe  in  the  keeping  of  the  people,  and  not  liable  to 
be  perverted  or  abused.  There  are  special  provisions  and 
safeguards  to  prevent  its  misuse.  In  a  few  cases  some  of  the 
funds  raised  have  been  lost,  by  unsafe  deposits  ;  but  as  the 
general  rule,  they  are  well  invested,  and  sacredly  held  by  the 
appropriate  officers,  in  trust  for  their  high  and  noble  purpose. 
A  few  of  the  most  able  churches  were  far  better  without  these 
'funds,  except  it  be  a  parsonage  ;  but  in  a  large  majority  of 
cases,  they  greatly  subserve  the  interests  of  true  religion,  by 
rendering  the  burdens  of  annual  expense  lighter,  and  by  increas- 
ing the  annual  salaries,  asthe  increased  expenses  of  living  and 
therefore  the  real  wants  of  ministers  require.  If  the  more  able 
churches  could  and  would  part  with  the  most  or  all  of  their 
funds,  and  bestow  them  on  the  weaker,  or  make  some  provision 
for  more  generous  salaries,  and  for  proportionate  contributions 
for  benevolent  objects,  their  funds  would  still  do  good  and  not 
evil. 


PERMANENT  FUNDS. 


BY  REV.  G.  A.  CALHOUN,  D.  D.,  NORTH  COVENTRY. 


No  doubt  the  system  of  Permanent  Funds  for  supporting  the 
gospel,  in  connection  with  the  churches  of  our  denomination, 
originated  in  a  sincere  desire  to  render  enduring  the  institu- 
tions of  religion,  and  to  perpetuate  the  usefulness  of  benefac- 
tors beyond  the  short  period  of  their  generation.  But  in  the 
inauguration  of  the  system  in  Congregational  churches,  two 
mistakes  were  committed.  First,  the  application  of  the  funds 
to  the  specific  objects  designed  was  not  sufficiently  defined 
and  guarded  against  perversion.  They  were  often  instituted 
Avithout  designating  what  system  of  doctrines  they  were  given 
to  support ;  leaving  those  who  should  have  control  of  them, 
to  apply  them  to  the  promulgation  of  truth  or  error  according 
to  their  pleasure. 

And  in  the  next  place,  funds,  especially  parochial  funds,  were 
formed  where  they  we"e  not  required.  Large  and  wealthy 
ecclesiastical  societies  are  better  without  permanent  funds  for 
the  support  of  the  gospel  than  with  them.  It  is  no  favor  to 
them  to  be  entirely  exempt  from  pecuniary  expense  in  sus- 
taining the  institutions  of  religion  for  themselves,  and  the  com- 
munities with  which  they  are  connected.  As  a  general  princi- 
ple, that  which  costs  nothing  is  lightly  esteemed.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  there  are  churches  and  societies  in  Connecticut 
which  have  been  essentially  injured  by  being  freed  from  care 
and  effort  in  supporting  the  ministrations  of  the  gospel.  They 
have  not  had  imposed  upon  them  the  care  and  exertion  need- 
ful to  awaken  interest  and  efficiency  in  ecclesiastical  matters  ; 
and  hence  their  inactivity  and  indifference  have  reared  a  bar- 
rier against  benevolent  exertions  and  spiritual  progress.  His- 
toric facts  in  connection  with  our  large  churches  and  wealthy 
societies  lead  us  to  expect  a  clearer  manifestation  of  the  spirit 
of  Christ  where  there  are  pecuniary  sacrifices  annually  made, 

31 


234  Permanent  Funds. 

than  where  they  are  not  demanded  for  sustaining  religious  in- 
stitutions among  themselves.  They  who  have  necessity  laid 
upon  them  of  looking  to  God  for  their  daily  bread,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  necessity  may  be  brought  nearer  to  God,  have 
a  deeper  sense  of  dependence  on  Him.  and  of  their  obligations 
of  gratitude,  than  if  provision  had  been  made  for  an  abundant 
supply  of  all  their  wants.  We  would  aid  poor  churches  in 
sustaining  religious  institutions  among  them,  and  we  would  do 
it  in  the  way  which  will  best  subserve  their  permanent  inter- 
ests ;  while  we  would  be  sure  to  let  the  wealthy  churches 
enjoy  the  favor  of  making  annual  provision  for  themselves,  be- 
lieving that  permanent  funds  are  rather  an  injury  than  a  bene- 
fit to  them.  As  the  Congregational  churches  of  this  state  have 
been  kept  thus  long  from  a  forfeiture  of  their  evangelical  char- 
acter, so  funds  consecrated  to  the  service  of  evangelical  religion 
have  been  wonderfully  preserved  from  a  perverted  application. 
As  no  original  Congregational  church  in  the  state  has  fully 
changed  its  denominational  character,  we  know  of  no  funds 
which  have  been  taken  from  our  denomination  and  applied  to 
the  support  of  a  church  of  another  name,  or  to  the  promul- 
gation of  fatal  error.  But  the  history  of  Congregational 
churches  and  institutions  out  of  Connecticut  admonishes  us  of 
danger,  and  the  need  of  much  caution.  And  close  corporations 
entrusted  with  treasures  consecrated  to  the  service  of  the  Lord, 
are  invested  with  a  power  to  do  great  evil  whenever  they 
prove  recreant  to  the  trust  reposed  in  them.  The  ecclesiasti- 
cal history  of  New  England,  for  the  last  half  century,  is  proof 
of  this,  without  going  further  back,  or  to  a  greater  distance. 
But  the  churches  cannot  be  supplied  with  well  qualified  pastors 
and  missionaries  without  the  endowment  of  literary  and  theo- 
logical institutions. 

Theological  instruction  must  be  gratuitous,  and  even  be- 
yond that ;  students  in  theology  must  be  aided  in  their  self-de- 
nying, struggling  efforts  to  enter  the  ministry.  The  question 
has  long  been  settled,  even  from  the  first  planting  of  Congre- 
gationalism in  New  England,  that  a  system  of  permanent  funds 
must  be  adopted  for  the  education  of  Christian  ministers.  And 
this  system  has  become  imperative  and  more  extended  since 
the  establishment  of  theological  seminaries.  We  have  no 


Permanent  Funds.  235 

desire  to  see  these  seminaries  so  richly  endowed  as  to 
present  a  strong  temptation  to  worldings  to  become  occu- 
pants of  their  professorships.  A  chair  of  gold,  in  process  of 
time,  would  probably  be  in  the  possession  of  a  thief.  A  Judas 
"  had  the  bag  and  bare  what  was  put  therein."  But  profes- 
sors in  these  institutions  should  be  relieved  from  distressing 
anxiety  in  reference  to  their  pecuniary  support  ;  and  they  and 
their  pupils  should  be  supplied  with  accommodations  and  means 
requisite  to  the  most  efficient  and  successful  prosecution  of 
their  appropriate  work.  This  end  cannot  be  attained  without 
permanent  funds.  And  if  there  are  permanent  funds  for  the 
support  of  professors,  for  the  provision  of  needful  buildings  and 
large  and  well  selected  libraries,  a  field  will  then  he  left  open  for 
benevolent  exertion  in  aiding  indigent  students  in  meeting  their 
necessary  expenses.  The  danger  of  a  perversion  of  funds  in  con- 
nection with  our  theological  institutions  is  probably  greater 
than  from  any  other  quarter. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  most  of  the  theological  seminaries 
of  New  England,  established  by  Congregationalists  are,  in  their 
organic  form,  more  thoroughly  anti-congregational  than  those 
of  other  denominations.  They  have  been  committed  to  the 
management  of  self-perpetuating  bodies,  over  whom  neither 
the  churches,  nor  their  pastors  have  any  control.  In  these 
seminaries,  so  long  as  they  are  held  in  reputation,  centers  a 
powerful  influence  for  or  against  evangelical  religion.  And 
instructors  in  them  are  in  circumstances  most  favorable  for 
swaying  public  sentiment  according  to  their  pleasure.  As  it 
is  expected  that  they  will  take  the  sons  of  the  churches,  im- 
press on  them  their  own  views  of  the  revealed  will  of  God, 
and  send  them  forth  to  be  pastors  and  missionaries  of  the 
churches,  a  godly  jealousy  in  reference  to  the  kind  of  instruc- 
tion given  in  these  seats  of  learning,  is  not  out  of  place.  The 
influence  of  universities  in  Europe  in  opposition  to  evangelical 
religion,  as  also  that  of  one  planted  by  our  Puritan  Fathers, 
admonishes  us  of  danger  from  these  needful  engines  of  great 
power. 

The  system  of  Permanent  Funds  in  supporting  the  gospel 
should  not  be  applied  to  our  charitable  institutions  but  to  a  limi- 
ted extent,  especially  to  voluntary  associations.  We  do  not  ob- 


236  Permanent  Funds. 

ject  to  the  Foreign  Missionary  Board  possessing  their  mission 
house,  and  funds  to  support  their  secretaries;  but  the  spirit  of  mis- 
sions would  not  be  sustained,  much  less  increased,  were  it  not  for 
an  annual  application  to  the  churches  for  means  to  continue  the 
work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love.  And  to  secure  permanency 
and  efficiency  to  the  other  great  charitable  societies,  they  should 
be  intrusted  with  property  sufficient  to  give  them  a  local  and 
convenient  position  for  transacting  the  business  allotted  them  ; 
but  we  would  have  them  dependent  on  annual  contributions 
for  means  to  sustain  their  operations.  We  should  deeply  re- 
gret the  loss  of  the  fund  created  by  the  missionary  societies  of 
Connecticut,  or  what  is  denominated  the  "  Everest  Fund." 
There  are  metes  and  bounds  set  to  the  application  of  these 
charities,  and  the  General  Association  of  this  state  is  constituted 
the  almoner.  We  do  not  discover  ground  to  fear,  that  they 
will  not  be  hereafter,  as  they  have  thus  long  been,  a  means  of 
great  good  to  the  destitute. 

But  while  we  would  be  thus  cautious  in  adopting  the  sys- 
tem of  permanent  funds  for  the  support  of  the  gospel ;  we  would 
by  no  means  discourage  the  benevolent,  possessed  of  property, 
from  making  friends  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  that 
they  may  be  doing  good  when  they  are  dead  and  received  into 
everlasting  habitations.  There  are  churches  in  the  hill  towns 
of  New  England,  sound  in  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints,  long  since  planted,  and  often  watered  with  the  dews 
and  showers  of  grace,  which  are  in  pressing  need  of  perma- 
nent funds  to  aid  them  in  supporting  the  gospel.  Their  necessi- 
tous condition  has  not  resulted  from  any  marked  neglect  of 
theirs,  but  from  the  providence  of  God  in  taking  from  them 
their  members  to  form  in  part  churches  at  the  west,  and  in  man- 
ufacturing villages,  or  to  give  additional  strength  and  efficiency 
to  wealthy  churches  in  our  own  state.  Most  of  the  thirty-two 
churches  in  Connecticut,  assisted  by  the  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, were  once,  not  only  self-supporting,  but  were  efficient 
members  of  our  ecclesiastical  community.  They  have  made 
great  sacrifices  to  the  spirit  of  emigration  and  to  the  extension 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  Compared  with  wealthy  churches, 
theirs  has  been  a  double  sacrifice — of  helpers  in  the  good  cause 
and  of  pecuniary  ability.  Indeed  to  many  of  our  wealthy 


Permanent  Funds.  237 

churches  it  might  be  said,  that  though  they  were  rich,  yet  for 
your  sakes  they  became  poor,  that  ye  through  their  poverty 
might  be  rich. 

We  understand  it  to  be  the  purpose  of  our  Home  Missionary 
Society  to  prevent,  if  possible,  any  of  these  churches  from  be- 
coming extinct,  and  eventually  to  repair  all  the  waste  places  of 
Connecticut.  Great  good  has  been  accomplished  by  the  assis- 
tance granted  ;  but  is  an  annual  appropriation  of  a  small  sum 
to  each  of  these  churches  to  keep  them  from  becoming  at  once 
defunct,  the  best  method  which  can  be  adopted  for  .effecting 
the  purpose  formed  ?  There  are  some  evils  attending  these 
annual  appropriations,  and  particularly  to  the  old  churches  in 
our  rural  districts  ;  it  is  an  annual  proclamation  of  their  pau- 
perism, which  is  dispiriting  to  them,  and  gratifying  to  their  en- 
emies. A  church  receives  from  the  Home  Missionary  Society 
an  appropriation  of  $100,  for  which  they  are  truly  grateful. 
It  may  enable  them  to  eke  out  the  small  salary  of  their  pastor 
for  the  coming  year ;  but  what  will  become  of  us,  it  is  said,  if 
this  aid  should  hereafter  be  withheld,  or  if  some  of  our  mem- 
bers should  be. taken  from  us?  And  then,  the  unfavorable  in- 
fluence which  this  state  of  things  must  have  on  the  pastor,  can 
well  be  imagined.  A  bright  boy  in  the  poor  house  to-day,  may 
be  at  a  future  period  an  honor  to  the  pulpit,  to  the  bar  or  to 
the  congress  of  the  nation  ;  but  an  old  pauper,  who  will  con- 
nect their  interest  with  his  ?  An  infant  village  church  may 
be  annually  assisted  by  the  missionary  society,  with  the  pros- 
pect, that  when  old  enough  it  will  take  care  of  itself.  And 
this  assistance  will  not  consign  it,  in  public  estimation,  to  hope- 
less pauperism.  But  facts  disclose  a  reluctance  in  many  men 
to  becoming  members  of  societies,  connected  with  these  old 
feeble  churches,  who  would  not  hesitate  to  unite  with  them 
were  their  pecuniary  condition  fair  and  promising  for  the  fu- 
ture. Were  the  system  of  permanent  funds  for  the  support  of  the 
gospel  adopted  so  far  as  to  give  weak  societies  strength  to  sus- 
tain the  institutions  of  religion  without  charitable  assistance, 
and  without  a  heavy  burden  to  be  borne  by  their  members  ; 
and  also  so  far  as  to  make  the  impression  on  friends  and  ene- 
mies, that  these  churches  are  to  live  while  generations  pass 
away ;  their  condition  would  be  at  once  vastly  improved. 


238  Permanent  Funds. 

The  correctness  of  this  position  has  been  tested  by  experiment 
in  the  Consociation  of  Tolland  County.  When  many  of  the 
churches  of  that  Consociation  began  to  decline  in  pecuniary 
strength,  in  consequence  of  emigration  and  the  operation  of 
other  causes,  six  of  them,  aware  of  their  tendency  to  weakness, 
secured  each  a  permanent  fund  of  some  four  or  five  thousand 
dollars.  With  the  assistance  thus  derived,  they  have  been 
self-supporting,  and  the  prospect  is.  that  they  will  continue  to 
be  thus  independent  :  otherwise  they  would  have  ere  this  be- 
came beneficiaries  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society.  Neighbor- 
ing churches,  in  like  circumstances,  not  improving  their  oppor- 
tunity, are  now  receiving  charitable  aid  ;  and  we  fear  the 
amount  now  annually  bestowed  will  not  for  many  years  con- 
tinue unto  them  the  stated  ministrations  of  the  gospel.  They 
need  each  of  them  a  fund  of  five  thousand  dollars,  to  awaken 
in  them  hope  and  expectation  of  good,  to  gather  strength  from 
the  population  around  them,  and  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
to  win  souls  to  Christ.  So  do  other  churches  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances. And  we  know  not  where  the  system  of  perma- 
ent  funds  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  can  be  applied  with  less 
danger  of  perversion,  or  with  a  fairer  prospect  of  lasting  good. 
And  we  know  not  where  emigrants  from  these  churches,  or 
other  persons  who  have  property  to  bestow  in  charity,  can 
find  objects  more  worthy  of  their  generosity,  than  our  feeble 
churches. 

The  friends  of  God  in  their  operations  to  enlarge  the  King- 
dom of  Christ  on  earth,  would  be  greatly  embarrassed  without 
the  aid  of  permanent  funds.  These  funds  to  be  available  of 
good  should  be  put  in  the  right  place,  and  the  application  of 
them  to  the  support  of  the  faith  and  order  of  our  churches  be 
guarded  by  explicit  legal  instruments. 


A  PERMANENT  MINISTRY. 


BY  REV.   TIMOTHY  TUTTLE,  LEDYARD. 


Time  was,  when  the  location  of  a  minister  in  any  particular 
place,  as  pastor  of  a  church,  was  regarded  as  a  permanent  es- 
tablishment. Until  near  the  close  of  the  last  century,  the  dis- 
mission of  a  pastor  was  an  event  of  uncommon  occurrence  ; 
a  thing  which  gave  occasion  for  much  remark,  and  the  cause 
of  dismission  was  the  subject  of  earnest  inquiry.  Councils, 
when  called  to  act  on  the  question  of  dissolving  the  connection 
between  a  pastor  and  his  church,  long  hesitated  before  coming 
to  a  decision.  That  churches  and  societies  then  considered  the 
installment  of  a  minister  as  a  permanent  thing  is  evident  from 
the  fact,  that,  in  the  call  given  to  the  candidate,  they  always 
offered  what  they  called  a  settlement,  that  is,  something  beyond 
a  yearly  salary, — something  to  begin  life  with,  or  with  which 
he  might  purchase  a  home.  Now,  that  thing  is  entirely  done 
away  ;  and  well  it  may  be ;  for  if  it  were  continued,  societies 
would  often  be  subject  to  pecuniary  loss. 

The  frequency  of  the  dismission  of  ministers  began  about 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century ;  and  now  it  is  an 
uncommon  thing  that  a  man  continues  the  pastor  of  the  same 
church  during  the  whole  period  of  his  ministry,  unless  his  min- 
isterial life  should  end  at  a  very  early  stage.  In  one  District 
Association,  (that  of  New  London,)  there  have  been,  in  less  than 
half  a  century,  nearly  sixty  removals  of  pastors  by  dismission 
alone,  not  including  those  who  have  been  removed  by  death. 

Now,  if  we  inquire  concerning  the  causes,  or  the  circumstan- 
ces, which  have  led  to  the  frequency  of  dismissions,  it  may  be 
observed,  that  the  closing  period  of  the  last  century,  or  more 
especially  the  beginning  of  the  present,  was  an  era,  not  only 
of  the  commencement  of  revivals  of  religion,  but  was  also  more 
distinguished  than  formerly  for  discriminating  doctrinal  preach- 


240  A  Permanent  Ministry. 

ing.  The  distinguishing  doctrines  of  Calvinism  were  brought 
out  more  fully  and  pointedly  than  they  had  been,  in  some  of 
the  preceding  years.  They  were  dwelt  upon  by  the  younger 
class  of  ministers  in  almost  every  sermon.  In  many  pla- 
ces, these  doctrines  were  new  to  the  people.  By  many,  they 
were  -termed  "  New  Divinity ;"  and  much  opposition  to  them 
was  awakened.  This  opposition,  becoming  somewhat  formi- 
dable, caused  some  instances  of  dismission.  From  that  time 
onward,  restless  spirits  in  churches  and  societies — men  of  stand- 
ing and  influence,  finding  that  they  could  worry  out  a  minister 
whom  they  disliked,  and  whose  preaching  was  too  searching  for 
them  to  bear  submissively,  began  to  make  efforts  to  accomplish 
their  object ;  and  now  it  is  not  uncommon  that  a  very  few,  thus 
rising  up,  cause  a  minister's  removal.  Formerly,  it  seldom  en- 
tered into  the  minds  of  the  disaffected,  that  a  minister  could  be 
dismissed  ;  or,  if  any  had  such  an  idea,  and  attempted  to  bring 
it  about,  they  were  put  down  by  the  general  voice  of  the  par- 
ish. But  now,  if  the  people  composing  our  churches  and  con- 
gregations manifest  more  uneasiness  under  a  permanent  minis- 
try than  in  former  times  ;  if  they  are  more  given  to  change, 
more  fastidious,  or  difficult  to  please,  more  fault-finding  with 
their  minister,  and  ready  to  turn  him  off,  (especially  if  he  has 
arrived  at  the  age  of  fifty  years  or  more,  or  if  not  thought  to 
stand  upon  the  very  summit  of  modern  excellence  ;)  the  cause 
of  this  state  of  things,  is  the  ease,  with  which  it  is  now  found 
that  he  can  be  removed. 

At  first,  the  reason  assigned  most  commonly  by  ministers 
themselves,  in  asking  for  a  dismission,  was  want  of  support ; 
though  there  might  be,  and  often  there  were,  other  reasons  un- 
derlying the  request.  If  now  the  frequency  of  dismissions  is 
a  subject  of  lamentation,  (and  we  know  it  has  been  by  both 
ministers  and  churches,)  the  writer  of  this  article  must  be  al- 
lowed to  express  his  opinion,  that  the  action  of  ministers  them- 
selves, has,  in  many  instances,  tended  to  introduce  this  lamen- 
table state  of  things ;  and  on  them  the  blame  must,  in  some 
measure  rest.  A  minister  is  justified  in  asking  for  a  dismis- 
sion when  his  health  fails  ;  and  so  he  may  be  when  there  is  an 
overbearing  degree  of  disaffection  in  his  parish  ;  but  not  be- 
cause one  or  two  individuals  rise  up  against  him.  He  may 


A  Permanent  Ministry.  241 

properly  ask  for  a  dismission,  and  he  ought  to  do  so,  when  it  is 
clearly  manifest  that  his  usefulness  among  his  people  is  at  an 
end.  But  it  must  be  admitted,  that  many  have  sought  and  ob- 
tained a  dismission  when  there  was  no  urgent  occasion  for  it, 
and  in  cases,  in  which  both  the  minister  and  the  congregation 
have  been  sufferers  in  consequence. 

In  further  proof  that  ministers  should  take  apart  of  the  blame 
to  themselves  in  having  prepared  the  way  for  the  present  state 
of  things,  when  changes  are  so  frequent,  we  would  state  the 
fact,  that  young  men  have  sometimes  consented  to  be  settled 
in  a  parish,  with  the  intention  on  their  part  of  not  continuing 
long  in  it.  Perhaps  it  is  some  weak  parish,  or  some  obscure 
place.  But  they  have  concluded  that  it  will  do  for  the  present, 
until  they  can  make  themselves  better  known,  and  rise  to  some 
eminence  ;  and  then  they  "  mean  to  go  up  higher." 

Strong  and  wealthy  parishes  also  do  wrong  in  inviting  a  min- 
ister from  one  that  is  weaker.  Sometimes  they  send  spies  to 
hear  one  preach,  concerning  whom  a  good  report  has  reached 
them ;  and  if  the  spies,  after  hearing,  recommend  him,  then  a 
call  is  extended  to  him  forthwith.  This  is  not  acting  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  Savior's  golden  rule,  not  doing  to  others  as 
they  would  that  others  should  do  to  them.  A  small  and  weak 
parish  needs  an  able  minister,  as  well  as  a  large  one  ;  it  needs 
such  a  minister  to  build  it  up,  otherwise  it  is  liable  to  remain 
always  feeble.  Ministers  themselves  ought  to  put  down  this 
kind  of  traffic,  and  to  show  that  they  are  not  to  be  taken  by 
the  highest  bidder. 

Now,  as  to  the  permanence  of  the  pastoral  office,  we  may 
say,  that  more  importance  should  be  attached  to  it  than  is 
usually  done, — more  than  councils  usually  attach  to  it,  when 
called  to  dismiss  a  minister  ;  more  than  churches  and  societies 
now  attach  to  it.  The  reasons  are, 

1.  The  migratory  condition  of  a  minister  often  operates 
greatly  to  his  disadvantage.  It  is  possible  that  he  may  find  a 
wider  and  a  more  inviting  field  of  usefulness,  and  he  may  have 
a  better  support.  But  it  is  a  common  thing  that  he  is  no  bet- 
ter situated — perhaps  not  so  well ;  especially,  if  he  goes  from 
a  people  strongly  attached  to  him,  and  where  his  influence  is 
powerfully  felt.  Sometimes,  like  Jonah,  he  goes  away  from 

32 


•>42  A  Permanent  Ministry. 

duty,  and  from  the  place  where  God  sent  him  :  and  though  he 
may  not  be  cast  into  the  sea,  and  be  swallo\ved  by  a  whale,  he 
becomes  a  wanderer  on  the  land,  having,  it  may  be,  no  perma- 
nent location.  Thus,  instead  of  being  more  useful,  his  useful- 
ness may  become  in  a  measure  abridged  ;  and  if  he  has  a  fam- 
ily, his  care  and  anxiety  for  them  are  greatly  increased.  A 
minister  may  go  from  a  place  where  he  is  pastor,  and  find 
another  where  he  is  only  a  stated  supply  ;  and  there,  he  knows 
not  what  shall  be  at  the  end  of  his  term.  There,  his  days  are 
as  the  days  of  a  hireling.  Or,  he  may  possibly  find  a  place 
where  all  things  look  pleasantly.  But,  has  he,  on  the  whole, 
gained  anything  by  the  change  ?  It  may  be  that  he  has  gained 
by  experience  the  knowledge  of  one  thing,  and  that  is,  that  it 
is  not  best  to  be  unsettled  again.  But,  admitting  that  he  has 
found  another,  and  possibly  a  better  place,  still  one  thing  may 
cause  him  some  embarrassment ;  he  has  the  character  of  his 
people,  as  individuals,  to  learn  ;  and  he  may  be  left  to  find  out 
things  to  his  own  disadvantage,  and  to  learn  that  some,  in 
whom  he  confided  most,  are  the  least  friendly,  or  the  least  dis- 
posed to  aid  him  in  his  work. 

But  these  are  not  all  the  disadvantages  of  shifting  from  place 
to  place.  In  most  cases,  it  is  thought  that  migrating  minis- 
ters do  not  study  as  much  as  those  are  under  the  necessity  of 
doing,  who  are  permanently  located ;  and  consequently  there 
is  a  lack  of  that  mental  improvement  to  which  they  might  and 
ought  to  have  attained.  Men  are  not  apt  to  labor  constantly  and 
untiringly,  unless  they  have  something  to  impel  them  to  action. 
They  are  liable  to  content  themselves  with  the  thought  that 
old  sermons  will  answer  very  well  for  a  new  place.  But  if  a 
minister  continues  long  in  the  same  location,  he  must  do  some- 
thing to  maintain  his  standing,  as  compared  with  others.  He 
must  keep  up  with  the  advancement  of  society.  He  must 
bring  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  as  well  as  old;  otherwise, 
as  we  sometimes  say,  "  his  pond  will  fail." 

Further,  as  to  the  influence  of  a  minister  upon  the  minds  of 
his  people,  we  do  not  believe,  in  most  instances,  that  it  is  di- 
minished by  a  long  continuance  with  them  :  unless  he  should 
persist  in  laboring  after  his  mental  faculties  have  failed.  If  he 
labors  onward  to  advanced  age  in  the  same  place,  as  ministers 


A  Permanent  Ministry.  243 

did  formerly,  he  labors  for  those,  the  most  of  whom  were  bora 
and  educated  under  his  ministry.  The  members  of  his  church 
are  the  persons  whom  he  has  baptized.  They  regard  him  as 
their  spiritual  father  ;  and  they  scarcely  know  any  other  min- 
ister. He  therefore  exerts  over  their  minds  a  powerful  in- 
fluence. 

Such,  to  ministers  themselves,  are  the  advantages  of  a  per- 
manent ministry,  as  contrasted  with  frequent  changes.  Minis- 
ters cannot  be  absolutely  sure  of  being  more  useful  by  a  change 
of  place  ;  and  if  they  break  away  from  a  people  who  are 
strongly  attached  to  them,  God  may  frown  upon  their  act,  in- 
stead of  adding  his  blessing. 

2.  The  frequent  dismission  of  ministers  operates  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  parishes. 

Particularly,  we  may  observe,  that  weak  parishes,  when 
called  to  part  with  their  minister,  especially  if  he  be  one  to 
whom  they  are  warmly  attached,  are  very  liable  to  be  discour- 
aged, and  to  be  broken  down.  They  are  willing,  we  will  sup- 
pose, to  do  all  they  can  to  retain  him.  But  he  has  a  call,  it 
may  be.  from  some  other  parish — from  one  greater  in  numbers 
and  stronger  in  resources.  Calls  of  this  kind — the  stronger 
from  the  weaker — if  justified  at  all,  must  be  so  mainly  on  the 
principle,  that  power  gives  right.  But  suppose  the  minister,  so 
called,  consents  to  leave  his  people.  He  leaves  the  few  sheep 
in  the  wilderness,  it  may  be,  to  remain  unfed,  to  be  discour- 
aged— perhaps  to  be  scattered  upon  the  mountains,  and  to  be- 
come an  easy  prey  to  any  devourer  that  may  be  lying  in  wait. 

Another  evil  resulting  to  parishes  is,  that  they  are  apt  to  con- 
tent themselves  with  only  a  stated  supply.  We  will  suppose  a 
parish,  in  which  frequent  dismissions  have  already  occurred. 
It  may  not  be  one  of  the  stronger  parishes,  but  one  able  to  sup- 
port a  pastor.  Why  then  do  they  not  settle  one  ?  They  may 
say,  of  what  use  will  it  be  ?  If  we  had  one,  we  should  prob- 
ably soon  have  to  dismiss  him.  His  installation  would  be  only 
a  useless  ceremony,  and  therefore  we  may  as  well  content  our- 
selves with  hiring  by  the  year,  or  by  six  months,  as  the  case 
may  be.  Besides,  he  cannot  feel  at  home  among  them  as  he 
otherwise  would  ;  nor  will  he  be  apt  to  feel  the  responsibilities 
of  a  pastor  :  nor  can  they  speak  of  him  as  sustaining  that  en- 


£44  A  Permanent  Ministry. 

clearing  relation.  A  "  stated  supply  "  is  comparatively  a  new 
order  in  our  churches.  Those  of  us,  who  are  advanced  in  age, 
never  heard  of  it  in  our  boyhood,  nor  have  we  ever  read  of  it 
among  the  different  orders  of  officers  in  the  church,  as  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament.  If  the  practice  of  employing 
stated  supplies  continues  to  prevail,  the  time  may  soon  come 
when  there  will  be  very  few  pastors  in  our  churches. 

A  further  evil,  resulting  from  the  frequent  dismission  of 
ministers,  is  the  liability  in  parishes  to  become  divided.  If  the 
dismission  of  a  minister  does  not,  of  itself,  cause  division,  the 
attempt  to  select  another  may  have,  and  it  often  has  had  that 
effect.  Many  candidates,  it  may  be,  are  tried ;  and  some  of 
the  parish  are  for  Paul,  and  some  for  Apollos,  and  some  for 
Cephas ;  and  it  is  found  a  difficult  thing  to  agree  upon  any 
one.  Thus  divisions  are  caused,  and,  perhaps,  animosities  are 
enkindled,  which  may  be  lasting  as  a  generation  ;  and  if  an- 
other pastor  should  be  settled,  the  disaffected  ones  may  seek 
a  home  somewhere  else.  It  may  be  a  question  whether  the 
frequent  dismission  of  ministers  from  our  churches  has  not 
tended  to  strengthen  other  denominations. 

Still  another  evil  may  be  mentioned,  and  that  is,  that  there 
is  now  less  sacredness  attached  to  the  pastoral  office,  and  that 
ordinations  and  installations  are  regarded  with  far  less  solemnity 
than  they  were  in  former  times.  Formerly,  when  such  an 
occurrence  was  to  take  place,  it  was  a  thing  of  great  notoriety, 
and  there  was  a  general  gathering  of  the  people,  not  only  of 
the  parish,  but  from  neighboring  towns.  Now,  because  it  is 
a  thing  of  common  occurrence,  and  there  is  so  much  uncertainty 
about  the  ministers  continuing  in  the  pastoral  office,  the 
importance  of  the  transaction  is  not  duly  appreciated,  and  the 
solemnity  of  it  is  not  felt.  Formerly,  the  settlement  of  a 
pastor  was  considered  in  the  light  of  a  marriage — an  agreement 
which  was  to  be  lasting  as  life.  Now,  there  is  almost  a  moral 
certainty,  that,  if  the  pastor  should  live  a  few  years,  a  divorce 
will  take  place.  Thus  an  installation  is  liable  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  mere  farce,  and  the  office  of  the  ministry  is  coming 
to  be  regarded  too  much  as  a  secular  concern. 

Viewing  the  subject  in  the  light  which  has  now  been  pre- 
sented, and  in  reference  to  the  evils  resulting  from  frequent 


A  Permanent  Ministry.  245 

dismissions,  we  may  see  what  degree  of  importance  ought  to 
be  attached  to  a  permanent  ministry. 

Now,  as  to  the  remedy  of  the  evils  mentioned,  it  is  difficult, 
under  present  circumstances,  to  prescribe  any  course  of  action 
which  shall  be  effectual.  Churches  and  societies,  for  their 
own  interest,  need  enlightening  on  the  subject,  that  they  may 
learn  how  to  appreciate  the  pastoral  office.  But  much  depends 
on  the  action  of  ministers  themselves.  They  should  learn 
wisdom  from  their  own  experience.  Some  ministers  would, 
probably,  do  well  to  be  less  aspiring  than  they  are,  and  endea- 
vor to  learn,  as  did  the  apostle,  in  whatever  state  they  are, 
therewith  to  be  content;  especially  to  be  content  with  the  place 
where  God,  in  his  providence,  has  put  them,  so  long  as  they 
can  be  sustained,  and  so  long  as  they  have  the  prospect  of 
doing  any  good.  Let  them  not  seek  to  be  dismissed,  unless 
absolute  necessity  requires  it ;  and  let  all  take  a  decided  stand 
in  favor  of  a  permanent  ministry.  Truly  the  present  may  be 
termed  a  transition  age,  and  it  is  considered  to  be  .an  age  of 
progress  :  and  though  it  may  be  thought  that  the  world  is  be- 
coming better,  yet,  in  respect  to  the  permanency  of  the  minis- 
try, happier  would  it  be,  if  the  present  were  like  the  age  of 
our  Puritan  fathers.  But  it  will  never  be  such  an  age,  unless 
ministers  themselves  do  all  they  can  to  make  it  so.  But  how, 
it  may  be  inquired,  shall  they  attempt  to  make  it  so  ?  Let 
them  not  be  too  aspiring — not  so  much  given  to  change — not 
so  easily  frightened  by  a  few  passing  shadows ;  for  shadows 
there  will  be  in  all  their  progress  ;  and  let  them  labor  on,  con- 
tented with  such  things  as  God  appoints  to  them.  If  they 
would  have  stable  churches,  they  must  themselves  be  stable. 

[If  ministers  were  not  too  modest,  or  too  much  affected  by 
the  fear  of  the  charge  of  sinister  motives,  they  might  enlighten 
their  people  on  the  advantages  of  permanency,  or  at  least 
preach  for  one  another  on  this  subject.  But  there  are  some 
things  to  be  done  also  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  favor  a  per- 
manent ministry.  Some  things  which  they  may  and  should 
do,  we  will  briefly  indicate,  though  they  are  often  repeated  at 
ordinations.  Every  church  should  devise  generous  things  in 
their  relations  with  their  minister,  and  treat  him  liberally  in 


246  'A  Permanent  Ministry. 

in  every  respect ;  they  should  be  cordial  toward  him  and  his 
family ;  show  him  due  respect  and  reverence  ;  make  him  feel 
at  home,  so  that  he  can  labor  heartily  for  them  as  for  his  own 
people  ;  seek  to  be  united,  frown  on  tattlers  and  mischief-mak- 
ers, and  use  all  practicable  means  to  promote  harmony  ;  pray 
for  their  minister,  for  when  they  do  not  care  to  pray  for  him. 
he  will  soon,  in  their  estimation,  become  unfit  for  their  min- 
ister; in  a  word,  the  people  should  make  provision  for  per- 
manency in  everything.  A  condition  of  " notice  to  quit" 
in  the  terms  of  settlement  ought  never  to  be  allowed,  for  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  it  will  cause  an  unnecessary  dismis- 
sion ;  it  shows  a  distrust  of  a  minister's  capacity  or  integrity, 
and  is  a  libel  on  the  Christian  benevolence  of  both  parties. 
Churches  that  are  waning,  in  agricultural  towns,  should, 
of  themselves,  and  with  the  aid  of  their  sons  who  have  gone 
abroad,  seek  to  raise  a  moderate  permanent  fund,  so  as  to  be  de- 
pendent on  missionary  aid  as  little  as  possible,  which  is  needed 
in  the  new  settlements  of  the  West.  Every  church  and 
society  which  desires  a  permanent  ministry  should  with  new 
effort,  and  self-denial  if  need  be,  give  a  more  liberal  salary,  ac- 
cording to  the  changes  of  style  and  the  habits  of  society, 
if  they  have  not  already  done  so.  The  cost  of  living  has  nearly 
or  quite  doubled  within  fifty  years;  but  salaries  have  in- 
creased at  a  far  less  ratio.  The  people  are  also  greatly  in- 
creasing their  gains,  by  extending  their  business  and  receiv- 
ing higher  prices  for  their  products ;  but  many  churches  are 
not  in  any  like  degree  advancing  in  their  liberality  to  their 
ministers.  They  charge  double  for  what  they  furnish  him  by 
sale,  but  do  not  double  his  means  of  paying,  or  of  educating 
his  children,  and  meeting  all  other  expenses  at  enhanced  cost. 
Frequent  and  generous  donations  greatly  strengthen  the  confi- 
dence, and  encourage  the  hearts  of  a  minister  and  his  family ; 
but  unfortunately  for  them,  every  lamb  and  chicken,  every 
peck  of  apples  and  potatoes,  the  people  have  to  spare,  now 
find  so  ready  a  market  and  at  such  advanced  prices,  that 
the  gifts  which  were  once  so  common,  and  which  serve  so  well 
to  inspire  mutual  interest  and  confidence,  now  seldom  find 
their  way  to  the  minister's  pantry  or  cellar.  An  inviting 
parsonage,  with  ample  and  efficient  means  for  needed  repairs. 


A  Permanent  Ministry.  247 

if  not  already  provided,  would  secure  and  help  to  retain  a  desir- 
able minister.  Since  few  can  furnish  dwellings  for  themselves, 
this  now  seems  almost  indispensable  under  the  new  order  of 
things — with  "  settlements"  among  the  things  which  are  now 
obsolete.  And  last,  though  not  least,  every  church  needs  a  pas- 
toral library  for  the  use  of  their  successive  ministers.  Many  of 
the  best  ministers,  especially  those  with  the  smallest  salaries,  find 
it  impossible  to  furnish  themselves  with  the  standard  theologi- 
cal books — commentaries,  and  books  of  reference,  which 
every  minister  needs  for  the  most  intelligent,  satisfactory  and 
useful  discharge  of  his  ministry.  But  a  well  selected  library 
would  be  a  great  consideration  with  most  ministers,  in  accepting 
a  call  to  a  church.  It  would  be  for  the  interest  of  any  church 
to  tax  themselves  50  or  $>100  a  year  for  a  course  of  years  for 
such  a  library ;  for  they  would  be  constantly  receiving  in 
return  more  that  compound  interest.  A  country  or  village 
church,  paying  from  600  to  $1000  salary,  could  save  one  half 
of  what  they  felt  to  be  a  necessary  increase,  by  devoting  a  yearly 
sum  to  the  purchase  of  books.  A  less  salary  would  be  accepted 
than  otherwise,  both  for  the  sake  of  the  attractiveness  of  the 
library  itself,  and  because  of  the  saving  in  that  bill  of  personal 
expenses.  When  this  measure  shall  be  fully  inaugurated,  and 
a  pastoral  library  become  as  common  as  a  parsonage,  a  great 
stride  will  have  been  taken  on  the  road  to  permanence  in  the 
ministry.  Funds  need  to  be  established  for  this  purpose,  por- 
tions of  overgrown  funds,  if  possible,  should  be  devoted  to  it, 
legacies  given  and  annual  contributions  made  by  the  people 
— funds  and  legacies  conditioned,  perhaps,  on  the  raising  of 
proportionate  annual  contributions. 

With  the  use  of  these  and  kindred  means,  many  an  undesir- 
able parish  may  gain  and  keep  desirable  ministers ;  and  thus 
may  permanency  as  of  old,  with  all  its  blessings,  return  to 
our  ministry.] — Com.  of  Pub. 


COMMON    SCHOOL   AND  ACADEMICAL  EDUCATION 
AS  INDEBTED  TO  CONGREGATIONALISTS.* 

BY  DAVID  N.  CAMP,  ESQ,.,  STATE   SUPERINTENDENT  OF   SCHOOLS. 


In  speaking  of  the  relations  of  any  particular  church  or 
denomination  to  the  school  system  of  the  state  it  is  difficult  to 
separate  the  distinctive  denominational  action  from  that  of  the 
whole  community,  for,  in  many  instances,  though  action  may 
have  been  by  a  particular  body,  the  records  of  such  action  do 
not  conclusively  establish  such  fact.  No  one,  however,  who 
has  been  conversant  either  with  the  history  of  Congregational- 
ism in  Connecticut,  or  with  the  earlier  history  of  common 
schools  and  academies,  can  have  failed  to  see  that  elementary 
education  has  always  found  among  Congregationalists  warm 
advocates  and  firm  supporters. 

The  early  settlers  of  the  towns  which  composed  the  two 
original  colonies  of  Connecticut  and  New  Haven  were  mostly 
Congregationalists.  They  came  to  these  settlements  with  their 
families  and  all  the  family  relations  existing  from  the  first.  They 
came  with  all  the  elements  of  the  state  combined  in  vigorous 
action,  and  with  a  firm  purpose  to  make  the  then  wilderness 
their  permanent  home.  They  came  with  earnest  religious 
convictions,  made  more  earnest  by  the  trials  of  persecution. 
United  in  a  common  faith,  bound  together  by  strong  sym- 
pathies, and  already  organized  in  churches  for  religious  im- 
provement, it  was  in  harmony  with  their  circumstances  that 
they  should  seek  the  intellectual  and  moral  culture  of  their 
children.  But  there  were  other  reasons  why  they  should  do 
this.  They  held  the  Bible  as  the  only  authoritative  expression 


*  This  article,  prepared  in  ill  health,  and  amid  the  pressure  of  official  duties,  is  an 
inadequate  exhibition  of  the  subject.  The  hope  has  been  indulged  of  making  it  more 
complete,  but  too  much  research  and  investigation  seem  to  be  required  to  render  it 
practicable. 


Common  Schools  and  Academies.  249 

of  the  divine  will,  and  that  every  man  was  able  to  judge  for 
himself  in  its  interpretation.  Their  civil  government  was 
organized,  as  they  believed,  on  the  principles  of  the  Bible,  and  its 
teachings  were  their  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  It  became, 
therefore,  necessary  that  all  should  understand  the  Scriptures, 
and  receive  that  intellectual  culture  which  would  enable  them 
to  read  the  Bible  and  judge  of  its  meaning.  Thus,  among  the 
earliest  laws  of  the  colonies,  were  statutes  requiring  parents 
and  masters  to  teach  their  children,  either  themselves  or  by 
others,  so  as  to  enable  them  perfectly  to  read  the  English 
tongue,  also  to  catechize  them  in  the  grounds  and  principles 
of  religion. 

The  members  of  their  churches  had  many  of  them  received 
a  good  education  in  the  best  grammar  schools  of  England. 
They  knew  the  value  of  good  schools,  and  felt  the  necessity 
of  establishing  them  in  the  colonies,  so  that  almost  immedi- 
ately on  the  formation  of  a  settlement  a  school  as  well  as  a 
church  was  organized.  And  these  pious  men  not  only  sought  to 
provide  for  their  own  children,  but  also  endeavored  to  make 
provision  for  the  elementary  education  of  all  by  establishing 
common  schools,  and,  in  some  instances,  making  these  schools 
free.  The  supervision  of  the  schools,  though  provided  for  by  the 
towns,  was,  generally,  committed  to  the  pastors  of  the  churches. 
Thus,  in  the  records  of  the  New  Haven  colony,  at  a  general 
court,  held  25th  of  12th  month,  1641,  it  was  ordered  "  That 
a  free  school  be  set  up  in  this  town,  and  our  pastor,  together 
with  the  magistrates,  shall  consider  what  yearly  allowance  is 
meet  to  be  given  to  it  out  of  the  common  stock  of  the  town,  and 
also  what  rule  and  orders  are  meet  to  be  observed  in  and  about 
the  same/'  In  the  continued  legislation,  the  pastor  or  minister 
is  often  referred  to  as  superintending  the  schools.  Not  only 
were  the  individual  pastors  deeply  interested  in  the  common 
schools,  but  it  appears  that  the  governor,  council  and  repre- 
sentatives in  general  court  assembled,  in  May,  1714,  recom- 
mended to  the  General  Association  of  the  churches,  in  this 
colony,  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  religion  in  this  govern- 
ment. In  compliance  wherewith,  the  Association  reported  to 
the  Assembly  several  heads  relating  to  religion  and  education. 
These  were  considered  by  the  next  General  Assembly,  and  an 

33 


250  Common  Schools  and  Acadtmies. 

act  was  passed  designed  to  secure  the  due  execution  of  the  law 
for  the  education  of  children.  After  the  establishment  of 
parishes  or  societies  within  the  limits  of  incorporated  towns, 
the  common  schools  were  under  the  supervision  of  officers 
appointed  by  school  societies  coterminous  with  the  parishes. 
Among  these  officers  was  almost  always  found  the  "minister." 

From  that  time  to  the  present,  the  Congregational  clergy 
have  almost  universally  been  actively  engaged  in  promoting 
the  cause  of  common  schools. 

The  influence  of  the  Congregational  denomination  on 
academies  and  high  schools  is  seen  chiefly  in  the  results  of 
individual  or  extraordinary  action,  while  the  benefits  are 
undoubtedly  much  greater,  from  the  constant  influence  of  a 
deep  and  abiding  feeling  that  pervaded  the  ministry,  that  it 
was  important  that  the  facilities  for  higher  education  should  be 
abundantly  provided. 

Among  the  earliest  and  best  established  schools  of  higher 
order,  were  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School  of  New  Haven,  and 
the  Public  Grammar  School  of  Hartford.  Both  of  these  in- 
stitutions received  important  bequests  from  Governor  Edward 
Hopkins,  who,  at  his  death,  left  by  will  a  sum  for  the  educa- 
tion of  hopeful  youths,  both  at  the  Grammar  School  and 
College.  Gov.  Hopkins  was,  in  early  life,  a  convert  to  the 
religious  doctrines  and  observances  of  the  Puritans,  and  came 
to  this  state  in  1637,  where  he  resided  for  about  fifteen  years. 
His  deep  religious  feeling,  and  his  own  high  culture  enabled 
him  to  see  the  need  of  such  institutions  as  his  wealth  permitted 
him  to  foster  and  endow. 

The  Hopkins  Grammar  School  at  New  Haven  has  been 
successfully  maintained  for  nearly  two  centuries,  and  is  still 
doing  good  service  as  a  classical  school  of  high  character. 

The  Hartford  Grammar  School,  after  many  vicissitudes,  but 
with  eminent  success,  has  been  united  with  the  Public  High 
School  of  that  city,  yet  is  still  so  far  distinct  as  to  answer  the 
true  "intent  and  purpose"  of  Mr.  Hopkins,  by  being. open  to 
young  men  from  abroad. 

Dr.  Dwight,  afterwards  president  of  Yale  College,  started  an 
academy  at  Green's  Farms,  Fairfield,  in  1783,  and  continued 
the  same  till  his  removal  to  New  Haven,  in  1796.  This 


Common  Schools  and  Academies. 


school  obtained  a  high  reputation,  not  only  in  Connecticut  but 
in  other  states,  and  may  be  taken  as  the  type  of  numerous 
similar  institutions  established  by  Congregational  ministers  and 
maintained  by  them  at  the  same  time  that  they  were  filling 
the  office  of  pastors  to  large  parishes. 

The  term  "  Academy/'  which  in  the  mother  country  had 
been  applied  to  seminaries  of  learning  established  by  the  non- 
conformists, to  distinguish  them  from  the  schools  and  colleges 
of  the  Church  of  England,  seems  to  have  been  applied,  very 
naturally,  by  the  sons  of  the  Puritans  to  similar  institutions  in 
this  country,  and  though  not  confined  to  schools  founded  by 
Congregationalists,  was  generally  applied  to  such.  Some  of 
these  institutions  ceased  to  exist  after  a  few  years,  while  others 
were  merged  in  the  higher  departments  of  common  schools, 
but  many  of  them  were  incorporated  by  the  General  Assembly, 
and  became  permanent  educational  institutions. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  the  date  of  incorporation  of  the 
principal  of  these  schools,  and  the  position  which  they  occupied. 
Most  of  them  were  incorporated  in  the  first  thirty-five  years  of 
the  present  century,  as  follows : 

In  1802  Berlin  Academy 

"  1802  Woodstock  " 

"   1803  Bacon  " 

"  1806  Stratford       " 

"   1809  New  Township  Academy 


1814  Danbury 
1821  Fairfield 
1823  Goshen 
1825  Lee's 
1829  Greenwich 

1829  Tolland 

1830  Brooklyn 

1833  Hill's 

1834  Killingworth 
1834  North  Greenwich 
1334  Ellington 


at  Berlin. 
"  Woodstock. 
11  Colchester. 
"  Stratford. 
"  New  Haven. 
"  Danbury. 

"  Fairfield. 

"  Goshen. 

"  Madison. 

"  Greenwich. 

"  Tolland. 

"  Brooklyn. 

"  Say  brook. 

"  Killingworth. 

"  N.  Greenwich. 


"  Ellington. 

A  few  of  the  above  had  considerable  endowments.  Two 
or  three  others,  as  the  Brainard  Academy,  Guilford  Institute, 
and  Norwich  Free  Academy,  have  been  more  recently  endowed. 


252  Common  Schools  and  Academies. 

Besides  these,  there  were  two  or  three  female  academies,  and  a 
few  others  whose  existence  was  brief.  These  mentioned  were 
not  usually  denominational  in  character,  but  to  a  great  extent  had 
their  origin  in  the  efforts  of  Congregational  pastors  and  laymen. 
Some  of  them  were  general  in  character,  but  the  great  object 
of  their  founders  seems  to  have  been  to  provide  educational 
institutions,  either  academies  or  grammar  schools,  which  would 
afford  young  men  an  opportunity  to  fit  for  college,  and  afford 
both  young  men  and  young  women  a  place  where  they 
might  obtain  a  better  education  than  the  common  schools  then 
offered. 

The  influence  of  these  academies  and  high  or  grammar 
schools  has  been  felt  in  the  denomination  and  in  the  state  at 
large. 

The  results  of  the  action  of  Congregationalists  cannot  so 
easily  be  separated  from  the  aggregate  results  of  educational 
improvements  and  influences.  It  has  generally  been  their  aim 
not  simply  to  provide  means  of  instruction  for  their  own 
children  and  those  of  their  faith,  but  to  extend  the  opportunities 
of  a  good  education  to  all  classes,  and  bring  superior  schools 
within  the  reach  of  all.  Their  efforts  have  been  abundantly 
blessed  to  the  Congregational  church  and  to  the  state  at 
large. 


SEPARATE  CHURCHES  IN  CONNECTICUT. 


BY  REV.  ROBERT  C.  LEARNED,  BERLIN. 


It  is  commonly  known  that  during  the  Great  Awakening  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  there  were  in  New  England  many  di- 
visions and  contentions  arising  out  of  the  fervent  zeal  of  some 
members  of  the  churches  and  the  more  conservative  spirit  of 
most  of  the  pastors  and  brethren.  As  a  consequence  of  these 
divisions  there  arose  a  class  of  churches,  considerably  numerous 
for  a  time,  which  though  purely  Congregational  in  their  princi- 
ples and  practices  were  not  in  fellowship  with  the  churches  of 
"  the  standing  order."  They  insisted  strongly  on  the  neces- 
sity of  a  clear  evidence  of  regeneration  and  an  open  confession 
of  faith  with  a  public  recital  of  religious  experience  :  they  asser- 
ted the  right  of  choosing  and  ordaining  officers  for  themselves, 
and  claimed  the  privilege  for  every  member  of  the  church  to 
exercise  the  gifts  which  God  had  bestowed  to  the  edification  of 
their  brethren.  They  were  truly  evangelical  in  their  general 
doctrine,  though  somewhat  enthusiastic  in  some  of  their  views, 
and  extravagant  in  their  practices. 

They  seceded  from  churches  on  the  Saybrook  platform,  and 
were  therefore  called  Separatists.  They  preferred  the  name 
of  Strict  Congregationaiists.  These  churches  have,  in  some  few 
cases,  been  received  into  fellowship  with  the  other  Congrega- 
tional churches,  the  occasion  of  their  separation  having  been 
obliterated  in  the  lapse  of  time  ;  in  others,  their  adherents  have 
turned  away  to  the  Baptist  connection.  In  many  particular 
cases  it  is  now  difficult  to  trace  the  history  of  these  churches. 
In  some,  it  is  uncertain  whether  or  not  a  church  organization 
was  ever  effected.  An  attempt  is  here  made  to  give  an  outline 
of  the  history  of  these  churches  in  Connecticut. 

The  first  Separate  church  was  that  in  CANTERBURY.  A  divi- 
sion took  place  about  the  time  of  Dr.  Coggs well's  settlement 
in  the  old  church  in  1 744.  They  had  first  as  a  pastor  one  of 


254  Separate  Churches  in  Connecticut. 

their  own  number.  Solomon  Payne, — ordained  Sept.  10,  1746, 
died  October  25,  1754.  Mr.  Payne  was  succeeded  by  Joseph 
Marshall, — ordained  April  18,  1759,  dismissed  Aug.  20.  1768. 

After  this  the  church  never  settled  a  pastor.  Efforts  were 
repeatedly  made  to  reunite  this  church  to  the  church  which 
stood  on  the  old  platform.  However,  in  1782  the  Separate 
church  was  reorganized  and  was  finally  admitted  into  fellow- 
ship with  the  regular  churches,  being  known  as  the  church  in 
the  North  Society,  its  house  of  worship  having  been  removed 
to  the  north  part  of  the  town.  There  Rev.  William  Bradford,  a 
native  of  Canterbury,  ministered  in  his  last  years,  and  here 
other  laborers  were  temporarily  employed.  At  length,  how- 
ever, the  old  red  meeting  house  fell  into  neglect  and  decay,  and 
about  the  year  1853  was  taken  down. 

In  SCOTLAND,  (then  a  part  of  Windham,)  a  Separate  church 
of  more  than  twenty  members,  cut  off  from  Scotland  church, 
was  formed  in  1746,  known  by  the  local  name  of  "  Brunswick 
Church"  It  had  only  one  pastor, — John  Palmer, — who  was 
ordained  May  17,  1749,  and  continued  in  charge  till  his  death, 
August  13,  1807,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  The  church  after- 
wards wasted  away  until,  in  1813,  it  was  dissolved  by  vote, 
most  of  the  members  going  to  the  Presbyterian  church,  Can- 
terbury, in  which  town  part  of  them  lived.  The  house  of 
worship,  south-east  of  Scotland  Village,  stood  till  about  1850. 

In  WINDHAM,  (First  Society,)  there  was  a  secession  ;  but,  if 
organized  at  all,  it  did  not  long  continue  its  church-life.  Back- 
us says -that  Elihu  Marsh  was  ordained  pastor  there  Oct.  7, 
1747,  and  afterwards  became  a  Baptist. 

In  MANSFIELD,  there  was  a  Separate  church  formed  Oct.  9, 
1745,  being  the  first  after  the  division  in  Canterbury.  They 
elected  Dea.  Thomas  Marsh  to  be  their  Pastor,  and  appointed 
January  6,  1746,  for  his  ordination  ;  but  the  day  before,  he  was 
seized  and  imprisoned  for  preaching  the  gospel  without  license. 
On  the  day  appointed  Mr.  Elisha  Paine  preached  to  a  great  con- 
course of  people.  In  February  they  chose  John  Hovey  pastor, 
and  ordained  him,  the  first  Separatist  pastor.  He  continued  in 
this  office  for  many  years,  but  died  Oct.  28,  1775.  Mr.  Marsh 
having  been  released  from  prison  was  ordained  colleague  with 
Hovey  in  July,  1746.  But  this  church  had  wasted  so  much, 


Separate  Churches  in  Connecticut.  255 

that  in  1765,  two  men  and  two  women,  then  "the  remaining 
members/'  obtained  "  liberty  of  communion  "  with  the  church 
in  South  Killingly,  "until  God  in  his  Providence  should  other- 
wise provide.'' 

In  KILLINGLY  a  Separate  church  was  formed  about  1746,  lo- 
cated in  the  southern  part  of  the  town,  over  which  were  set- 
tled these  pastors.  Samuel  Wadsworth,  ordained  Jan.  3,  1747, 
died  1762.  Eliphalet  Wright,  ordained  May  16,  1765,  died 
Aug.  4,  1784.  Israel  Day,  ordained  June  1,  1785.  dismissed 
May  23,  1826. 

During  Mr.  Day's  ministry,  he  was  received  by  special  vote 
into  the  County  Association.  After  his  death  the  church  was 
supplied  for  a  while  by  several  ministers,  and  one  was  settled, 
the  church  being  connected  with  the  others  of  the  county  in 
full  fellowship. 

Since  1856,  the  meeting  house  has  been  loaned  to  the  Free 
Will  Baptists,  and  the  church  is  nearly  extinct. 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  branch  of  this  church  in 
the  eastern  part  of  Killingly,  which  per/tips  prepared  the 
way  for  the  Baptist  church  now  established  there. 

In  BROOKLYN,  (then  a  society  in  Pomfret,)  there  was  a  sep- 
aration, but  whether  a  church  was  established  is  uncertain. 
The  records  of  the  Brooklyn  Church  show  that  in  Dec.,  1742, 
twenty-six  persons  signified  by  letter  their  "  dissent  and  with- 
draws "  from  the  pastor  as  from  one  that  had  the  form  but 
denied  the  power  of  godliness.  Most  of  these  persons  after 
repeated  admonitions  were  excluded  from  fellowship. 

In  PLAINFIELD  a  Separate  church  was  formed  about  1744,  of 
which  Thomas  Stevens  was  ordained  pastor  on  the  llth  of 
September  in  that  year.  He  was  a  man  of  some  native  talent,  a 
worthy  minister,Jand  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  party.  He 
died  in  charge  Nov.  15,  1755,  and  was  succeeded  by  Alexan- 
der Miller  about  1758,  who  ministered  till  his  death.  Their 
church  being  on  the  wane,  and  the  old  church  being  without  a 
pastor  and  in  a  feeble  state,  a  desire  for  re-union,  felt  in  both 
churches,  was  realized  in  Feb.  1769  ;  the  house  of  worship  was 
removed,  and  Mr.  Fuller  who  had  preached  to  other  Separate 
churches  was  settled  pastor  of  the  united  church. 

In  VOLUNTOWN  there  was  a  Separate  church,  over  which  Al- 


256  Separate  Churches  in  Connecticut. 

exander  Miller  was  ordained,  April  15,  1851,  and  presided  till 
his  removal  to  Plainfield,  when  the  two  churches  seemed  to 
have  united  in  one. 

In  PRESTON  a  Separate  church  was  formed  March  17,  1747, 
and  Paul  Park  was  ordained  pastor  July  15,  1747.  He  con- 
tinued in  office  more  than  fifty  years,  and  in  1797  preached  a 
half  century  sermon.  He  had  no  regular  successor  in  the  pas- 
torate, though  the  church  held  meetings  for  some  time  after 
his  death,  and  their  last  records  come  down  to  1817. 

There  was  another  Separate  church  in  the  "  LONG  SOCIETY  •' 
in  Preston,  over  which  Jonathan  Story  was  ordained  in  1742, 
but  it  seems  to  have  been  broken  up  in  a  few  years. 

In  LISBON,  (then  a  part  of  Norwich,)  a  Separate  church  was 
formed  which  had  for  its  pastor  Jeremiah  Tracy,  one  of  the 
seceders,  but  of  its  history  no  further  particulars  are  known. 

In  BOZRAH  (then  called  Norwich  Plains,)  there  was  like- 
wise a  Separate  church,  but  no  account  can  be  given  of  it. 
Probably  it  was  over  this  church  that  Bliss  Willoughby  was 
pastor  in  1756. 

In  FRANKLIN  (then  Norwich  Farms,)  there  was  another 
Separate  church,  over  which  Thomas  Denison  was  ordained 
pastor  Oct.  29,  1746,  and  continued  till  about  1759.  He  ap- 
pears at  various  places  and  times  in  the  history  of  the  churches 
of  this  order. 

In  NORWICH  there  was  a  Separate  church,  located  at  Bean 
Hill  which  began  about  1745.  Here  Jedediah  Hide  was  or- 
dained Pastor  Oct.  30,  1747,  but  was  deposed  Sept.  22,  1757. 
John  Fuller  was  ordained  Aug.  17,  1759,  but  removed  and  a 
Mr.  Reynolds  was  ordained  in  his  place,  Dec.  22,  1762,  who 
four  years  later  became  a  Baptist,  and  the  Separate  church  was 
scattered. 

In  MONTVILLE  (then  North  Parish,  New  London,)  there  was 
a  separation  in  1747-8,  and  Joshua  Morse  was  ordained  pastor 
there  May  17,  1750.  They  kept  together  about  thirty  years, 
but  elder  Morse  removing  in  1799  to  Landisfield,  Mass.,  the 
church  became  extinct. 

In  NEW  LONDON  there  was  a  Separate  church  gathered,  over 
which  Rev.  Timothy  Allen  presided  for  a  time,  who  had  been 
deposed  at  West  Haven  for  his  New  Light  views.  This  church, 
however,  did  not  continue  long. 


Separate  Churches  in  Connecticut.  257 

In  WATERFORD  (then  part  of  New  London,)  a  Separate  church 
was  gathered  about  1 748  with  Nathan  Howard  for  its  elder. 
This  church  early  adopted  Baptist  principles. 

In  EAST  LYME  there  was  a  Separate  church,  over  which  Eb- 
enezer  Mack  was  ordained  June  12,  1749.  They  erected  a 
meeting  house  in  1755,  but  most  of  them  soon  became  Bap- 
tists. 

In  LYME  there  was  another  Separate  church,  of  which  John 
Fuller  was  ordained  pastor  Dec.  25,  1746.  He  removed  to 
Norwich  in  1759.  Of  the  subsequent  history  of  the  church 
no  account  is  at  hand. 

In  NORTH  STONINGTON  a  Separate  church  was  formed  Sept. 
1 1, 1746,  of  which  Matthew  Smith  was  ordained  pastor  Dec.  10. 
1746,  but  on  the  3d  of  Aug.,  1749,  he  was  excommunicated  by 
the  church.  Oliver  Prentice  succeeded  him,  ordained  May  22. 
1753,  died  in  office  Oct  18,  1755.  Then  succeeded  Nathan 
Avery,  ordained  April  25,  1759  ;  died  in  the  22d  year  of 
his  ministry,  Sept.  7,  1780.  He  was  followed  after  an  inter- 
val by  Christopher  Avery,  ordained  Nov.  29,  1786,  who  minis- 
tered till  his  death,  July  5,  1819.  This  church  finally  coal- 
esced with  the  church  from  which  it  had  originally  separated. 

In  LEDYARD,  (then  North  Groton,)  there  was  a  small  body 
of  Separatists,  of  which  Nathaniel  Brown,  Jr.,  was  ordained 
pastor,  Nov.  14,  1751,  who  fell  under  censure  in  1755.  It 
probably  did  not  have  a  long  life,  but  was  supplied  for  a  time 
by  elder  Park  Allyn. 

In  ENFIELD  there  was  a  Separate  church  formed  in  1770, 
which  is  supposed  to  have  continued  twelve  or  fifteen  years, 
but  no  record  of  it  now  remains. 

In  SUFFIELD  a  Separate  church  was  formed,  of  which  Jo- 
seph Hastings  was  ordained  pastor  April  18,  1750.  They 
built  a  house  of  worship  in  1762,  but  soon  became  divi- 
ded and  broken  up.  Mr.  Hastings  became  a  Baptist,  and,  in 
1769,  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church,  into  which  a  portion  of 
his  church  had  been  organized.  The  Separatists  then  chose 
Israel  Holley  as  their  pastor,  who  was  ordained  June  29,  1763, 
but  was  afterwards  dismissed,  and  preached  in  Granby  and  in 
Cornwall.  This  church  was  dissolved  about  1784,  the  mem-, 
bers  mostly  returning  to  the  old  church. 

34 


253  Separate  Churches  in  Connecticut. 

In  MIDDLETOWN  there  was  a  Separate  church  which  at  first 
embraced  members  in  Wethersfield,  where  Ebenezer  Froth- 
ingham  was  ordained  Pastor  Oct.  28,  1747.  After  a  time  the 
members  in  Wethersfield  having  removed  to  New  York,  Mr. 
Frothingham  took  up  his  residence  in  Middletown,  and  was 
installed  there  about  1754.  His  people  resided  in  the  First 
and  Fourth  Societies,  and  in  1778  were  divided  into  two 
parties,  about  which  time  Mr.  F.  was  dismissed.  He  died  in 
Middletown  Nov.  30,  1798,  aged  81.  Stephen  Parsons,  his 
successor,  was  ordained  Jan.  31,  1788  ;  dis.  Aug.  9, 1795.  David 
Huntington,  was  ordained  Nov.  8,  1797;  dis.  Oct.  1800.  Ben- 
jamin Graves  was  ordained  Oct.  3,  1803  ;  dis.  1812.  About 
the  time  of  Mr.  Graves'  dismission,  the  church  was  dis- 
solved, but  was  re-organized  in  1816,  and  is  now  known  as 
the  South  Church  in  Middletown. 

In  COLCHESTER  there  appears  to  have  been  a  Separate  church, 
of  which  Jabez  Jones  was  ordained  pastor  in  1751.  Nothing 
more  is  at  hand  concerning  it. 

In  SOMERS  a  Separate  church  was  organized  in  1769.  The 
First  church  had  become  very  much  distracted  after  the  death  of 
Mr.  Leavitt  in  1761,  and  was  divided  ;  a  part  becoming  Separ- 
ates, built  a  meeting  house,  but  returned  in  great  harmony  un- 
der Dr.  Backus.  Mr.  Ely  who  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Sep- 
arate church — from  about  1769  to  1774 — was  afterwards 
prominent  in  Shay's  rebellion  in  western  Massachusetts,  and 
ended  his  days  in  prison. 

In  HADDAM  there  were  movements  towards  separation,  and 
a  society  was  formed  in  1785,  who  in  1792  professed  them- 
selves Baptists. 

In  TOLLAND  a  number  known  as  New  Lights  withdrew  them- 
selves from  the  communion  of  the  church  about  1740,  but  in 
1760  only  a  few  of  them  remained.  There  is  no  evidence  ex- 
isting of  their  having  formed  a  church. 

In  PROSPECT,  formerly  Columbia  Society,  there  was  a  Sepa- 
rate church,  probably  formed  between  1770  and  '80,  of  which 
Benjamin  Beach  was  several  years  pastor,  till  1797,  when  the 
present  church  was  formed  in  Prospect.  Being  unable  to  sup- 
port the  gospel  alone,  the  most  of  them  united  with  that 
church. 


Separate  Churches  in  Connecticut.  259 

In  TORRINGTON  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  church  united 
with  a  class  denominated  Separates  and  formed  a  society  styled 
the  Strict  Congregational  Society.  The  same  year  (1786,) 
they  commenced  a  house  of  worship  on  the  site  of  the  present 
church.  By  a  vote  of  this  church,  March,  1787,  Rev.  Lemuel 
Haynes,  a  colored  preacher,  became  their  pastor,  an  office 
which  he  held  about  two  years,  though  not  installed.  In  1791, 
by  the  aid  of  a  council,  both  churches  adopted  new  articles  of 
faith  and  a  covenant  and  became  re-united,  and  soon  after  made 
the  new  house  their  place  of  worship. 

In  BETHLEM  Dr.  Bellamy  made  record  in  1740,  "  A  number 
of  the  middle  aged  stand  up  for  false  religion  and  plead  for  the 
Separatists."  But  after  a  prevailing  epidemic  in  1750,  he  notes 
as.  one  of  the  favorable  results  that  "  the  separate  spirit  did  not 
appear  as  before." 

In  COVENTRY  and  NEW  MILFORD  there  are  believed  to  have 
been  movements  towards  separation,  but  no  certain  infor- 
mation has  been  obtained  concerning  them.  The  Second 
Church  in  Milford  and  the  North  Church  in  New  Haven  arose 
from  the  revival  influences  of  the  18th  century,  but  were  not 
Separatists. 

See  Dr.  TrumbulTs  History  of  Connecticut,  Vol.  2,  pp.  163—195 ;  Tracy's  Great 
Awakening,  pp.  310—325;  and  Rev.  Dr.  McEwen's  Historical  Paper  in  this  volume,  p. 

280. 

ERRATA. 

Page  254,  line  1,  put  a  comma  after  "  number." 

Page  254,  line  13,  put  quotation  marks  around  the  words   "the  old  red  meeting 
house." 

Page  254,  line  22,  for  Presbyterian,  read  Congregational. 
Page  255,  line  7,  for  "  Jan.  3,"  read  "  June  3." 
Page  256,  line  1,  for  "  1851,"  read  "  1751." 
Page  256,  Hue  2,  for  "  seemed,"  read  "  seem." 
Page  256,  line  11,  for  "  1742,"  read  "  1752." 
Page  256,  line  35,  for  "  Landisfield,"  read  "  Sandisfield." 


ON  THE  RISE,  GROWTH  AND  COMPARATIVE  RE- 
LATIONS OF  OTHER  EVANGELICAL  DENOMINA- 
TIONS IN  CONNECTICUT  TO  CONGREGATIONAL- 
ISM.* 


BY    REV.    HENRY    JONES,    BRIDGEPORT. 


PRESBYTERIANS. — In  a  survey  of  the  minor  evangelical  de- 
nominations in  Connecticut,  the  first  place  may  be  fairly 
assigned  by  us  to  the  Presbyterians  as  next  of  kin. 

In  Voluntown  a  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  on  the 
15th  October,  1723.  Its  first  pastor,  settled  in  1723,  was  dis- 
missed in  1770,  and  died  in  November,  1775.  The  church  was 
reorganized  as  Congregational  in  June,  1779.  The  church 
in  South  Mansfield  also  is  or  has  been  nominally  Presbyterian, 
but  practically  Congregational. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  six  Presbyterian  churches  in 
Connecticut,  of  which  the  Old  School  General  Assembly  claims 
five,  and  the  New  School  one.  Of  these  churches  we  present 
ihs  following  tabular  view  : 


Churches. 

Date    of  organi- 
zation. 

Number  of  origi- 
nal members. 

Number  of  mem- 
bers at  the  pre- 
sent time. 

Thorn  psonville,  O.  S.,        
Tariffville,  O.  S.,  

July    5,  1839. 
Get  24,  1844 

162 
20 

Hartford,  O.  S.,      

Oct.    4,  1851. 

32 

149 

Stamford,  N.  S.,  

Feb.  25,  1853. 

26 

149 

Oct.  31,  1853. 

78 

124 

Deep  River,  O.  S.,     

July  27,1856. 

19 

18 

The  numbers  in  the  last  column  are  taken  from  the  published 
minutes  of  the  two  General  Assemblies  for  1859. 

The  churches  in  Thompsonville,  Tariffville,  Hartford  and 


*  The  historical  facts  and  statistics  embraced  in  this  paper  are  based  mainly  on  the 
authorities  given  in  the  margin ;  and  from  these,  whatever  seemed  to  the  purpose, 
has  been  quoted  without  scruple. 


Other  Evangelical  Denominations.  261 

Stamford  were  originally  composed  almost  exclusively  of  those 
who  had  been  previously  members  of  Presbyterian  churches 
elsewhere,  and  who  imagined  that  their  spiritual  interests  would 
be  better  secured  under  that  organization. 

The  church  in  Bridgeport  was  the  result  of  a  secession 
from  the  Second  Congregational  church,  on  the  dismission  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Nathaniel  He  wit,  at  his  own  instance,  by  the  Con- 
sociation of  Fairfield  West. 

The  church  at  Deep  River  was  also  composed  originally  of 
members  seceding  from  a  Congregational  church.  The  reasons 
distinctly  assigned  in  this  instance  were,  the  refusal  of  that 
church  to  hear  from  its  pulpit  the  doctrines  of  the  Saybrook 
platform,  and  the  dismission,  without  trial,  by  a  unanimous 
vote  of  the  council  of  consociation,  of  the  pastor,  whom  the 
same  council  had,  eighteen  months  before,  with  the  same 
unanimity  ordained. 

But  we  must  be  allowed  to  doubt  whether  the  council  of 
consociation  could  have  been  led  so  summarily  and  unani- 
mously to  reverse  its  own  recent  action,  had  not  the  disaffec- 
tion seemed  to  have  been  caused,  not  by  the  doctrines  them- 
selves of  our  platform,  but  by  their  nude  and  disproportionately 
frequent,  and  so  far  unscriptural  exhibition.  It  may  indeed 
be  questioned  which  is  the  most  lamentable  in  the  Christian 
pastor,  an  affected  championship  of  doctrines  supposed  to  be 
specially  offensive  to  the  natural  heart,  or  an  over  prudent 
silence  in  respect  to  them.  And  in  the  present  case  the  Con- 
sociation might  justly  demand  why  has  not  this  church  been 
carefully  and  kindly  trained  to  an  intelligent  acceptance  of 
those  doctrines,  which  by  an  over  zealous  assertion  of  them, 
have  been  rendered  so  distasteful.  The  seceding  brethren, 
doubtless,  felt  themselves  called  upon  thus  to  bear  their  testi- 
mony to  the  truth.  But  might  they  not  have  yielded  a  more 
quiet,  indeed,  but  more  effective  testimony  by  remaining  at 
their  post?  Two  like  secessions  have  taken  place,  (in  Enfield 
and  Fair  Haven,)  without  a  change  of  denomination,  fully  in 
the  spirit  of  that  at  Deep  River. 

The  church  in  Tariffville,  in  October,  1852,  saw  their 
pastor  dismissed;  and  their  church  edifice  soon  after  sold  to 
Episcopalians.  They  have  still  an  existence  as  a  church,  but 


262  Other  Evangelical  Denominations. 

have  had  no  preaching  except  at  long  intervals  for  the  last 
seven  years. 

It  appears  that  within  the  last  ten  years,  four  Presbyterian 
churches  have  been  organized  in  our  state.  If  a  necessity  for 
these  churches  has  in  any  instance  arisen  from  a  want  of 
fidelity  to  the  scriptural  faith  of  our  fathers,  or  from  any  failure 
in  the  duties  of  church  fellowship,  to  which  we  are  mutually 
pledged  in  our  cherished  system  of  consociation,  let  the 
churches  receive  the  lessson  in  a  spirit  which  may  prevent  such 
divisions  in  future  years. 

BAPTISTS. — In  1705,  just  seventy  years  from  the  settlement 
of  the  Connecticut  River  towns,  a  Baptist  church  was  organ- 
ized in  Groton,  by  the  Rev.  Valentine  Wightman,  who  removed 
to  that  town  from  North  Kingston,  Rhode  Island.  There  had 
been  previously  a  few  scattered  Quakers  and  Episcopalians 
within  the  limits  of  the  colony,  but  this  appears  to  have  been 
the  first  attempt  to  establish  a  departure  from  the  Congrega- 
tional church  order  in  Connecticut. 

The  Rev.  Valentine  Wightman  remained  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Groton  forty-two  years,  till  his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty-six. 
He  was  descended  from  the  Rev.  Edward  Wightman,  burnt 
at  the  stake  in  England  in  1612,  the  last  man  who  suffered 
death  for  conscience  sake  in  the  mother  country  by  direct 
course  of  law.  He  was  followed  in  the  pastorate,  after  an  in- 
terval of  nine  years,  by  his  son,  the  Rev.  Timothy  Wightman, 
who  retained  the  office  forty  years  till  his  death  in  1796,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  John  G.  Wightman,  who  was  pastor 
of  the  same  church  from  1800  to  1841,  when  he  died.  Thus 
the  three  Wightmans,  father,  son  and  grandson,  sustained  the 
pastoral  office  in  this  church  one  hundred  and  twenty-three 
years.  Of  the  descendants  of  the  Rev.  Valentine  Wightman, 
nineteen  have  sustained  the  pastoral  office  with  usefulness  and 
honor. 

The  church  in  Groton  remained  the  only  Baptist  church  in 
Connecticut  for  twenty  years.  In  1726  another  was  organized 
in  New  London,  and  in  1743  a  third  in  North  Stonington. 

From  these  beginnings,  small  at  first  and  slow  in  progress, 
have  arisen,  amid  much  opposition  and  many  discouragements, 
we  are  told,  the  eight  associations  of  Baptist  churches  in  this 


Other  Evangelical  Denominations.  263 

state,  embracing  in  1850,  121  ministers,  113  churches,  and 
10,617  communicants.* 

The  Baptists  have  been  supposed  to  have  received  consider- 
able accessions  from  the  Separatists  of  the  last  century.  But 
it  appears  that  out  of  twenty-five  churches  of  the  Separatists, 
not  more  than  four  or  five  joined  the  Baptist  denomination. 
The  rest  resumed  their  communion  with  the  Congregational 
churches.f 

EPISCOPALIANS. — The  origin  of  Episcopacy  in  Connecticut, 
as  given  by  Trumbull,  is  substantially  as  follows  : 

The  society  for  propagating  the  Gospel  in  foreign  parts,  in 
1704,  fixed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Muirson  as  a  missionary  at  Rye. 
Some  of  the  people  at  Stratford  had  been  educated  in  the 
church  of  England,  and  others  were  not  pleased  with  the  rigid 
doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  New  England  churches ;  and 
they  made  an  earnest  application  to  Mr.  Muirson  to  visit  Strat- 
ford and  preach  and  baptize  among  them.  About  the  year 
1706,  on  their  invitation,  he  came  to  Stratford.  The  novelty 
of  the  affair,  and  other  circumstances,  brought  together  a  con- 
siderable assembly ;  and  Mr.  Muirson  baptized  twenty-five 
persons,  principally  adults.  The  churchmen  in  that  town  at 
first  consisted  of  about  fifteen  families,  among  whom  were  a 
few  landholders,  but  much  the  greatest  number  were  trades- 
people of  English  birth.  In  April,  1707,  Mr.  Muirson  made 
another  visit,  and  preached  this  time  in  Fairfield  as  well  as 
Stratford,  baptizing  in  both  towns  a  number  of  children  and 
adults.  In  1722,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pigot  was  established  as  a 
missionary  at  Stratford.  He  had  twenty  communicants  and 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  hearers.  In  1723  Christ  Church 
was  founded.  J 

Meantime  a  grand  defection  had  occurred  at  the  very  center 
of  things.  In  March,  1713,  the  trustees  of  Yale  College, 
wishing  to  secure  to  the  students  the  best  advantages,  had 
appointed  Rev.  Timothy  Cutler  of  Stratford  as  resident  rector. 
Mr.  Cutler  was  acceptable  to  the  legislature,  and  to  the  clergy, 
and  the  students  were  quiet  under  his  instruction  and  govern- 

*  Hollister's  Hist,  of  Conn.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  560. 

t  New  Euglander,  Vol.  XI.,  p.  216. 

J  Trmnbull's  Hist,  of  Conn.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  503. 


264  Other  Evangelical  Denominations. 

ment.  Says  Dr.  Stiles,  "  In  the  philosophy,  metaphysics  and 
ethics  of  his  day,  he  was  great.  He  spoke  Latin  with  fluency, 
and  with  great  propriety  of  pronunciation.  He  was  a  man  of 
extensive  reading  in  the  academic  sciences,  divinity  and  eccle- 
siastical history,  and  of  a  commanding  presence  and  dignity  in 
government."  The  college,  says  Trumbull,  appeared  now  to  he 
firmly  established  in  a  flourishing  and  happy  state.  But  from 
a  quarter  entirely  unexpected,  it  suffered  a  sudden  and  great 
change.  At  the  commencement  in  1722,  it  was  discovered 
that  the  rector  and  Mr.  Brown,  one  of  the  tutors,  had  embraced 
Episcopacy,  and  that  they  and  two  of  the  neighboring  minis- 
ters, Rev.  Samuel  Johnson  of  West  Haven,  and  Rev.  James 
Wetmore  of  North  Haven,  had  agreed  to  renounce  the  commu- 
nion of  the  churches  in  Connecticut,  and  to  take  a  voyage  to 
England  to  receive  Episcopal  ordination. 

Here  was,  indeed,  a  "  dignus  vindice  nodus."  Gurdon  Sal- 
tonstall  had  been  for  fourteen  years  the  governor  of  the  colony 
by  the  annual  vote  of  the  people.  In  the  first  year  of  his 
public  service,  through  his  personal  influence,  doubtless,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  Saybrook  Platform  had  been  carried,  and  our 
admirable  system  of  church  consociation  secured.  Before  his 
election  he  had  been  ten  years  a  Congregational  pastor,  was 
well  versed  in  the  Episcopal  controversy,  and  attached  to  the 
prevailing  order.  Nor  in  the  dignity  of  personal  presence  did 
he  yield  anything  to  the  learned  Rector.  So  important  did  he 
deem  it  that  the  public  should  be  informed  on  this  great 
question  of  the  liberty  of  the  churches,  that  he  came  forward, 
amid  the  universal  surprise,  and,  as  tradition  relates,  disputed 
openly  with  Rector  Cutler  the  claims  of  prelatical  supremacy. 
Moveover,  he  was  judged  to  have  been  superior  in  the  argu- 
ment, and  gave  much  satisfaction  to  the  clergy  and  others  who 
were  present. 

The  trustees  at  the  commencement  passed  no  resolve  rela- 
tive to  the  Rector,  but  gave  themselves  time  to  know  the  pre- 
valent opinion  of  the  people,  and  to  consult  the  legislature  on 
the  subject.  But  meeting  in  October,  while  the  assembly 
were  in  session  at  New  Haven,  they  adopted  the  following 
resolutions : 

"  Voted,  That  the  trustees,  in  faithfulness  to  the  trust  reposed 


Other  Evangelical  Denominations.  265 

in  them,  do  excuse  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cutler  from  all  further  services 
as  rector  of  the  college.  That  the  trustees  accept  the  resigna- 
tion which  Mr.  Brown  hath  made  as  tutor. 

"  Voted,  That  all  such  persons  as  shall  hereafter  be  elected 
to  the  office  of  rector  or  tutor  in  this  college,  shall,  before  they 
are  accepted  therein,  before  the  trustees,  declare  their  assent  to 
the  confession  of  faith,  owned  and  assented  to  by  the  elders  and 
messengers  of  the  churches  in  this  colony  of  Connecticut, 
assembled  by  delegation  at  Saybrook,  September  9,  1708,  and 
confirmed  by  the  act  of  General  Assembly,  and  shall  particularly 
give  satisfaction  to  them  of  the  soundness  of  their  faith  in 
opposition  to  Arminian  and  prelatical  corruptions,  and  of  any 
dangerous  consequence  to  the  purity  and  peace  of  our  churches. 
But  if  it  cannot  be  before  the  trustees,  it  shall  be  in  the  power 
of  any  two  trustees,  with  the  rector,  to  examine  a  tutor  with 
respect  to  the  confession  and  soundness  of  his  faith  in  opposi- 
tion to  such  corruptions."  * 

It  is  impossible  not  to  recognize  an  overruling  providence  in 
the  fact  that  fourteen  years  before  this  time  the  churches  of 
Connecticut  had  been  led  to  provide  themselves  with  a  con- 
fession of  faith,  adopted  as  if  with  special  reference  to  just 
such  an  emergency  as  had  now  so  unexpectedly  occurred. 
Who  can  fail  to  see  that  the  Saybrook  Platform  was  at  that 
time,  and  has  continued  to  be  from  that  time,  the  sheet-anchor 
of  the  freedom  and  unity  of  our  churches  ?— --that  it  then  held 
our  beloved  college,  and  has  since  held  it  firmly  moored  in  its 
primitive  and  Puritan  simplicity  ?  Had  Harvard  College, 
founded  in  the  united  prayers  and  sacrifices  of  the  sister  colo- 
nies, been  pledged  to  some  such  standard  as  our  platform 
affords,  could  it  have  been  so  easily  perverted  from  the  holy 
purposes  of  its  founders,  and  be  lending,  as  at  this  day,  its 
powerful  influence  to  the  propagation  of  fatal  error. 

Mr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Brown,  having  been  thus  excused  from 
their  services  at  the  college,  and  Mr.  Johnson  having  been 
about  the  same  time  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  charge,  as  also 
Mr.  Wetmore,  they  all  soon  after  proceeded  to  England  and 
received  holy  orders.  Of  these  only  one  returned  to  the 

*  Trumbuirs  Hist,  of  Conn.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  32. 

35 


266  Other  Evangelical  Denominations. 

colony.  The  Rev  Samuel  Johnson,  about  the  year  1724,  was 
stationed  as  missionary  of  the  church  at  Stratford,  in  the  place 
of  Mr.  Pigot.  Mr.  Johnson  is  described  by  Dr.  Dwight  as  the 
father  of  Episcopacy  in  Connecticut,  and,  perhaps,  the  most 
distinguished  clergyman  of  that  order  who  had  settled  within 
its  limits.  In  1754,  he  was  appointed  president  of  King's  Col- 
lege in  New  York.  He  received  the  degree  of  D.  D.  from 
the  University  of  Oxford. 

It  was  supposed  that  at  this  time  several  other  gentlemen 
of  considerable  character  among  the  clergy  were  in  the  scheme 
for  declaring  for  Episcopacy,  and  of  carrying  over  the  people 
of  Connecticut  in  general  to  that  persuasion.  But  as  they  had 
not  openly  committed  themselves,  when  they  saw  the  conse- 
quences with  respect  to  the  rector  and  the  other  ministers,  that 
the  people  would  not  hear  them,  but  dismissed  them  from  the 
service,  they  were  glad  to  conceal  their  former  purposes  and 
continue  in  their  respective  places.*  Three  instances  of  defec- 
tion, however,  afterward  occurred.  The  Rev.  John  Beach, 
who  had  been  the  approved  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
church  in  Newtown  for  seven  years,  seceded  from  the  prevail- 
ing order,  and  sailed  for  England,  where  he  was  Episcopally 
ordained  in  September,  1732.  He  afterward  preached  as  a 
missionary  in  Newtown  and  Reading.  The  Rev.  Samuel 
Seabury,  the  father  of  the  future  bishop  of  the  same  name, 
likewise  gave  up  his  charge  as  stated  supply  at  Groton,  declared 
for  Episcopacy,  and  sailed  for  England  for  holy  orders. f  And 
Rev.  Ebenezer  Punderson,  ordained  at  North  Groton  (Ledyard) 
in  1728,  after  five  years,  relinquished  his  pastoral  charge  and 
sought  Episcopal  ordination  in  England.  The  two  last  named 
likewise  returned  to  Connecticut  and  labored  as  missionaries  in 
New  London  county. 

In  1783,  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Connecticut  and  those  of  New 
York  held  a  private  meeting  and  elected  unanimously  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Seabury  as  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Connecticut ; 
and  soon  after  the  bishop  elect  proceeded  to  England  for  con- 
secration. He  had  been  ordained  as  presbyter  by  the  bishop 

*  Trninbull's  Hist,  of  Conn.,  vol.  II.,  p.  33. 
tHollister's  Hist,  of  Conn.,  vol.  II.,  p.  544, 


Other  Evangelical  Denominations.  267 

of  London  in  1753,  and  had  sustained  the  pastoral  office  at  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  and  at  Westchester,  suc- 
cessively. It  were  long  to  tell  the  perplexity  and  delay  which 
he  encountered  while  urging  in  England  his  claim  to  the 
apostolic  miter.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  on  the  14th  November, 
1784,  he  received  at  Aberdeen  in  Scotland  the  consecration 
which  England  had  refused,  and  returned  speedily  to  take 
charge  of  the  diocese  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island.* 

With  reference  to  the  progress  of  Episcopacy  in  Connecticut, 
the  following  statistics  are  given  on  the  best  authority  : 

Ministers  of  the  church  of  England  in  Conn,  in  1740,      7 
Fifteen  years  later,         .         .         .         .         .         .11 

Episcopal  parishes  in  1750,         .         .         .         .         .25 

Houses  of  worship,       ".....       24 

Episcopal  parishes  in  1800,         .         .         .         .         .62 

Increase  in  the  half  century,          ....        37 

The  increase  was  largest  soon  after  Whitfield's  first  visits  to 
New  England,  and  just  before  the  war  of  the  revolution. 
During  the  struggle  for  independence,  and  the  separation  of 
the  colonies  from  the  mother  country,  there  was  a  considera- 
ble loss,  which  was  only  beginning  to  be  recovered  at  the 
opening  of  the  present  century. 

The  Episcopal  clergy  in  1800  numbered  17  ;  the  same  as 
immediately  before  the  revolution.  The  parishes  had  again 
multiplied,  but  so  many  families  had  been  broken  up  by  the  war, 
or  had  withdrawn  after  the  declaration  of  peace  in  1783,  that 
the  communicants  could  not  have  numbered  more  than  1,500. 
At  the  adoption  of  the  present  constitution  in  1818,  when 
the  clergy  began  to  report  to  the  convention  of  the  diocese 
in  detail, 

The  communicants  were  .         .         .         3,400 

In  1825,  600  had  been  added,  making     .         .    4,000 

In  1 850,  the  Journal  of  the  Convention  gives      9,360 

METHODISTS. — The  first  seeds  of  Methodism  were  sown  in 

Connecticut  in  1789.J     In  June  of  that  year,  the  Rev.  Jesse 

*  Hollister's  Hiat.  of  Coiin.,  vol.  II.,  p.  548. 

t  This  is  the  date  given  by  Dr.  Bangs,  though  it  appears  from  the  "Memorials  of 
Methodism,"  by  Rev.  Abel  Stevens,  tliat  Rev.  Messrs.  Cook  and  Black  had  preached 
in  Connecticut  a  year  or  two  previously. 


268  Other  Evangelical  Denominations. 

Lee  preached  in  Norwalk,  Fairfield,  New  Haven,  Reading, 
Hartford,  Canaan,  and  other  places,  passing  three  months  in 
the  state. 

The  first  Methodist  society  was  formed  at  Stratford,  26th 
September,  1789,  and  consisted  of  three  females.  The  next 
was  at  Reading,  and  embraced  but  two  persons,  one  of  whom, 
Mr.  Aaron  Sanford,  became  afterward  a  local  preacher. 

The  first  church  edifice  was  built  at  Weston,  and  called 
Lee's  Chapel,  in  honor  of  its  founder. 

In  1790,  the  circuits  of  New  Haven,  Hartford  and  Litchfield 
were  established.  There  were  at  that  time  but  four  Methodist 
ministers  in  New  England.  Yet  there  were  more  ministers 
than  classes,  and  scarcely  more  than  two  members  to  each 
preacher.  Yet  under  the  earnest  and  devoted  labors  of  the 
pioneers  of  Methodism,  the  doctrine  and  discipline  inculcated 
by  Wesley  gradually  extended  over  the  state. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1802  the  number  of  members  was 
reported  as  1,658.  Efforts  persistently  made  to  obtain  the 
number  of  members  at  later  periods  have  been  unavailing. 

At  the  adoption  of  the   present  constitution  in 
1818,  the  number  of  Methodist  churches  was,     53 

In  1850,        , 185 

Increase  in  thirty-two  years,       .         .         .          132 
The  increase  of  the  number  of  Congregational 
churches  in  the  same  thirty-two  years  was,         42 

Of  the  Episcopal, 29 

Of  the  Baptist, 25 

Of  the  three  last  named  united,     ...          96 

It  thus  appears  that  the  excess  of  increase  in  the  number  of 
Methodist  churches  from  1818  to  1850,  over  that  of  the  Con- 
gregational, the  Episcopal,  and  the  Baptist  combined,  was  36. 
The  whole  number  of  Congregational  churches  in  1850  was 
252.  Excess  over  the  number  of  Methodist  churches  67. 

With  the  same  rates  of  increase  respectively,  the  Methodist 
churches  would  outnumber  the  Congregational  in  twenty-four 
years,  that  is  to  say,  in  fifteen  years  from  the  present  time.* 

*  Since  the  above  was  written  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  gives  as  the 
number  of  Methodist  churches  in  Connecticut  in  April,  1859,  164 ;  members  and 


Other  Evangelical  Denominations.  269 

To  what  causes  is  this  large  increase  of  the  Methodist 
denomination  to  be  ascribed  ? 

Our  Methodist  brethren,  if  called  on  for  their  honest  convic- 
tions, would  probably  assign,  first  and  mainly,  the  formalism, 
the  world! iness,  and  the  want  of  vital  piety  in  the  prevailing 
order.  And  with  too  much  reason,  we  must  allow,  especially 
if  we  look  back  to  the  close  of  the  last  century,  when  the 
mischief  of  the  half-way  covenant  was  at  its  hight,  and  when 
Methodism  made  its  entrance  among  us.  Let  us  hope  that  they 
could  say  it  with  less  truth  at  the  present  time. 

Another  cause  may,  probably,  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
Methodism  commends  itself  in  various  respects  to  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  people.  Its  preachers  are  taken  directly  from  the 
body  of  the  people,  and  without  any  extended  course  of  pre- 
paration, enter  on  their  work  with  their  previous  habits  of 
intellect  and  feeling  still  unchanged.  Thus  they  are  able  to 
address  the  people  more  in  accordance  with  their  own  modes 
of  thought,  and  to  carry  their  sympathies  more  entirely  with 
them  in  their  public  devotions,  than  one  can  easily  do,  who 
has  raised  himself  by  years  of  study,  and  of  communion  with 
the  choice  minds  of  the  world's  history,  to  a  higher  sphere  of 
thought  and  emotion.  From  the  efforts,  however,  which  are 
constantly  made  to  elevate  the  tone  of  Methodist  preaching,  it 
would  seem  that  either  our  Wesleyan  brethren  are  not  conscious 
of  the  advantage  they  have  thus  enjoyed,  or  are  not  careful 
to  retain  it.  The  people,  again,  are  admitted  to  a  large  share 
of  duty  and  responsibility  in  the  common  cause.  Lay  brethren 
are  regularly  employed  as  class  leaders  and  exhorters,  and 
amid  volunteer  prayers  and  exhortations,  all  raise,  ad  libitum, 
their  fervent  responses.  In  these  respects  Methodism  may  be 
characterized  as  the  religion  of  the  people. 

Again,  the  Methodist  organization  should  hold  a  place  in 
our  account  of  their  success.  No  church  calls  its  own  minister, 
no  preacher  selects  his  own  field.  There  is  more  than  military 

probationers,  18,500.  The  minutes  of  the  General  Association,  just  published,  give 
as  the  number  of  members  of  the  Congregational  churches  in  Connecticut,  Jan.  1st, 
1859,  45,871.  The  numbers  in  the  text  were  taken  from  the  U.  S.  census  for  1850, 
and  ought  to  be  reliable.  If  so,  we  have  a  loss  of  21  Methodist  churches  in  nine 
yean.  The  respected  historiographer  of  Methodism  will,  doubtless,  be  able  to  explain 
this. 


270  Other  Evangelical  Denominations. 

subordination  to  the  central  power — a  power  which  says  to 
this  man  go,  and  he  goeth ;  and  to  another,  come,  and  he 
cometh  ;  and  to  its  servant,  do  this,  and  he  doeth  it. 

Add  to  all  this  its  intensely  aggressive  policy — aggressive 
not  merely,  it  would  seem,  against  the  world  lying  in  wicked- 
ness, but,  to  a  good  degree,  against  the  churches  and  clergy  of 
another  name,  who,  perhaps,  in  its  opinion,  all  need  re-convert- 
ing, with  whom,  on  the  other  hand,  there  has  been,  proverbially, 
little  or  nothing  of  sectarian  and  proselyting  zeal,  and  who,  as 
their  formularies  show,  have  no  other  object  in  their  organiza- 
tion than  most  effectively  to  fulfil  the  last  command  of  our 
common  Master. 

GENERAL  VIEW. — The  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs  since 
the  opening  of  the  last  century  is  indeed  marvellous.  At  that 
time  not  a  "single  church  existed  in  our  Puritan  Connecticut 
which  was  not  of  the  Congregational  order.  In  1850  there 
were  734  churches,  of  which  252  only  were  Orthodox  Con- 
gregational, 29  per  cent.,  or  less  than  one  third  of  the  whole 
number. 

In  view  of  this  change,  we  rejoice  to  say  that  the  legislation 
of  Connecticut  has  never  been  opposed  to  the  progress  of  the 
minor  sects.  In  ,1727,  four  years  after  the  founding  of  Christ 
Church  in  Stratford,  it  was  enacted  that  "  If  it  so  happen  that 
there  be  a  society  of  the  church  of  England,  where  there  is  a 
person  in  orders  according  to  the  canons  of  the  church  of 
England,  settled  and  abiding  among  them,  and  performing  divine 
service,  so  near  to  any  person  that  hath  declared  himself  of 
the  church  of  England,  that  he  can  conveniently  and  doth 
attend  public  worship  there,"  whatever  tax  he  shall  pay  for  the 
support  of  religion  shall  be  delivered  "  unto  the  minister  of  the 
church  of  England."  Those  who  conform  to  the  church  of 
England  were  at  the  same  time  authorized  to  tax  themselves 
for  the  support  of  their  clergy,  and  were  excused  from  paying 
any  taxes  for  building  meeting-houses.  The  Quakers  and  the 
Baptists  received  the  same  exemption  and  the  same  indulgence 
in  1729. 

The  reports  of  religious  oppression  under  these  provisions 
are,  probably,  to  be  traced  to  cases  like  the  following.  A 
meeting-house  was  to  be  built,  or  other  unusual  expense  incur- 


Other  Evangelical  Denominations.  271 

red  by  a  Congregational  society ;  and  some  who  were  opposed 
to  the  proceeding,  would  declare  themselves  Episcopalians  or 
Baptists,  and  claim  that  they  ought  to  be  exempted  from  paying 
the  new  tax.  But  unless  there  was  an  established  society  and 
a  resident  minister  of  their  professed  faith,  for  whose  support 
they  were  taxed,  according  to  the  letter  of  statute  above  quoted, 
the  money  was  collected  according  to  law,  and  this  was  called 
persecution. 

The  law  of  1727  was  modified  by  subsequent  acts  of  the 
legislature,  every  change  being  intended  to  make  a  separation 
from  the  Congregational  churches  more  easy  to  those  who 
wished  to  leave  them.* 

By  a  statute  passed  October,  1708,  the  General  Assembly 
did  indeed  approve  the  Saybrook  Platform,  and  ordain  that 
the  churches  within  this  government  that  were  or  should  be 
thus  united  in  doctrine,  worship  and  discipline,  be  owned  and 
acknowledged  established  by  law,  and  from  that  time  till  the 
revision  of  the  laws  in  1784,  the  Congregational  churches 
enjoyed  the  pre-eminence  and  patronage  thus  implied. 

But  in  that  revision  of  1784,  the  legal  establishment  of  the 
Saybrook  Platform  was  repealed  by  being  omitted,  and  liberty 
of  conscience  granted  to  Christians  of  every  name.  From 
that  day  no  sect  in  Connecticut  has  been  invested  with  privileges 
superior  to  another — no  creed  is  established. 

The  state  was  divided  into  ecclesiastical  societies,  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  religious  worship  and  instruction. 
Each  society  was  at  liberty  to  adopt  such  creed  and  form  of 
worship  as  it  might  choose,  and  to  change  the  same  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  majority.  To  secure  the  consciences  and  pro- 
perty of  minorities,  it  was  provided  that  Christians,  of  what- 
ever denomination,  differing  from  the  worship  and  ministry 
adopted  by  the  majority  in  any  "  located  society,"  might  form 
themselves  into  distinct  churches  and  congregations  for  public 
worship ;  that  the  churches  or  congregations  thus  organized 
should  have  all  the  corporate  powers  and  privileges  of  the 
located  societies ;  and  that  every  person  attending  such 
churches  or  congregations,  and  lodging  a  certificate  of  the 

*  Kingsley's  Hist.  Discourse,  pp.  94  and  96. 


272  Other  Evangelical  Denominations. 

fact,  signed  by  the  minister  or  clerk  of  his  own  society,  with 
the  clerk  of  the  located  society,  should  be  exempt  from  all 
taxation  for  religious  purposes,  except  by  the  society  of  his 
choice. 

Every  person  was  bound,  indeed,  to  belong  ecclesiastically 
somewhere,  and  unless  his  certificate  was  given  to  the  contrary) 
he  was  presumed  to  belong  to  the  located  society.  The  sup- 
port of  Christian  worship  arid  instruction  was  taken  to  be  one 
of  the  great  interests  of  the  community  ;  and  in  theory  no  man 
was  allowed  to  rid  himself  of  his  part  of  the  burden. 

In  1791  the  system  was  completed  by  an  act  authorizing 
any  man  who  might  prefer  some  other  place  of  worship  to 
that  of  the  located  society,  to  give  a  certificate  of  the  fact 
under  his  own  hand,  and  by  such  a  certificate  to  free  himself 
from  all  further  responsibility  to  that  society.* 

By  the  new  constitution  formed  and  adopted  in  1818,  the 
long  cherished  principle  was  given  up  that  every  citizen  should 
bear  his  part  in  supporting  public  worship  and  Christian 
instruction,  as  a  matter  of  public  benefit.  Thus  was  the  last 
tie  broken  between  church  and  state,  and  every  man  left  to 
contribute  or  not  to  contribute  as  he  might  please  to  the  sup- 
port of  religious  institutions. 

And  all  these  acts,  be  it  remembered,  securing  to  the  citizen 
of  Connecticut  the  largest  religious  liberty,  were  passed,  not 
by  the  minor  sects,  for  in  those  times  they  together  formed 
but  a  fraction  of  the  people,  but  by  the  standing  order. 

It  was  certainly  a  picture  fair  to  see,  when  the  people  of 
Connecticut,  with  their  religious  teachers,  were  united  under 
one  system  of  faith  and  worship.  And  if  we  might  believe 
that  under  this  appearance  of  external  conformity,  there  were 
no  jarring  elements,  that  over  all  our  hills  and  valleys  heart 
beat  to  heart  in  Christian  sympathy,  it  would  be,  indeed,  a 
scene  over  which  angels  might  love  to  linger. 

But  alas !  the  previous  history  of  the  Connecticut  churches 
shows  that  the  elements  of  discord  were  rife  within  them. 
The  churches  of  Hartford,  Windsor,  Wethersfield  and  Stratford 
were  rent  with  internal  dissensions,  which  in  the  cases  of 

*  Quarterly  Christian  Spectator,  vol.  VIII.,  p.  500. 


Other  Evangelical  Denominations.  273 

Hartford  and  Stratford,  were  allayed  only  when  one  of  the 
contending  parties  withdrew  to  seek  a  new  home  in  the 
wilderness.* 

And  when  we  take  into  account  the  varying  minds  of  men, 
their  right  to  differ,  and  the  fact  that  in  a  free  country  that  right 
will  be  maintained,  the  only  question  seems  to  be,  shall 
men  differ  under  apparent  and  pretended  unity,  or  in  open  and 
honorable  dissent.  Religious  freedom  was  the  boon  which 
our  fathers  sought  in  coming  to  this  land.  In  all  consistency, 
then,  let  it  prevail  among  us  their  descendants,  and  let  us  pre- 
tend to  no  unity  which  is  not  hearty  and  free 


*  In  1659  Gov.  Johu  Webster,  Elder  William  Goodwin,  and  about  thirty  others 
removed  to  Hadley  ;  and  the  agreement  by  which  they  mutually  bound  themselves  so 
to  do,  now  stands  on  the  records  of  that  town. 


36 


CONGREGATIONALISTS  IN  THEIR  RELATION  TO 
OTHER  RELIGIOUS  SECTS,  CHARACTERIZED 
BY  ERROR.  FANATICISM.  OR  DISORDER 


BY    KEY.     ABEL    MC  EWEN,    D.   D.,     NEW    LONDON. 


The  Congregational  ministry  and  churches  of  Connecticut 
have,  from  abroad,  been  reproached  for  not  having  any  gen- 
eral confession  of  faith.  The  General  Association  has  no 
confession  of  faith.  Neither  has  any  District  Association,  nor 
any  Consociation  of  churches  in  the  state,  set  forth  any  such 
formulary.  Each  particular  church  makes,  or  adopts,  its  own 
confession  of  faith.  This  has  been  deemed  requisite  to  the 
religious  freedom  of  individual  Christians.  Though  the  sev- 
eral churches  have  been  indulged  in  this  liberty,  their  confes- 
sions have,  for  substance,  been  so  harmonious,  that  no  embar- 
rassment, during  more  than  two  centuries,  has  been  experienced 
in  transferring  ordinary  members,  or  pastors,  from  one  church 
to  another. 

By  ecclesiastical  bodies  which  use  general  confessions  of 
faith,  Congregationalists  have  been  admonished  that  they  expose 
their  churches,  by  the  absence  of  a  general  creed,  toapostacies 
from  their  faith  and  order  into  heretical  sects. 

To  this  the  pertinent  reply  is  : 

1.  That  no  Congregational  church  in  Connecticut  has  be- 
come UNITARIAN. 

Our  state  borders  upon  a  state,  some  of  whose  churches 
have  made  this  departure  from  the  religion  of  the  Pilgrims. 
Strenuous  efforts,  have,  in  a  few  instances,  been  made  to  seduce 
churches  in  Connecticut  from  their  Trinitarianism.  But  that 
class  of  the  population,  somewhat  elevated  by  taste  and  educa- 
tion, which  in  Massachusetts  became  Unitarians,  have,  in  our 
commonwealth,  chosen  to  be  Episcopalians,  so  that  the  ma- 
terial has  here  been  wanting  for  proselytes  to  their  faith. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Rev.  Stan- 
ley Griswold  became  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  New  Milford. 


Unitarians.  275 

Soon  after  his  ordination  he  manifested  religious  sentiments  di- 
verse from  those  of  his  orthodox  brethren.  He  labored  to 
break  the  distinction  between  the  church  and  the  world,  invi- 
ting all  the  congregation  to  the  communion  table.  To  this 
the  church  did  not  respond  ;  nor  is  it  known  that  any  individ- 
ual member  became  a  Unitarian.  Yet  this  church  so  far  sym- 
pathized with  its  pastor,  when  he  received  the  censure  of  the 
surrounding  pastors  and  churches,  that  the  Consociation  of 
Litchfield  South  were  constrained  to  exclude  it  from  their  fel- 
lowship. Soon,  however,  Mr.  Griswold  was  dismissed,  and 
immediately  the  church  employed  orthodox  candidates,  and,  at 
length,  settled  Mr.  Elliot,  under  whom  and  succeeding  pastors 
of  like  soundness  in  the  faith,  this  church  returned  to  rejoice 
and  to  be  welcomed  in  hearty  fellowship  with  the  other  church- 
es of  the  state. 

Contemporary  with  Mr.  Griswold,  the  Rev.  Whitfield  Cowles, 
pastor  of  a  church  in  Granby,  became  a  Unitarian,  or  something 
like  one.  He  seems  to  have  had  no  success  in  alienating  his 
church  and  people  from  their  established  creed  and  practice  ; 
and  his  ministerial  habits  were  such  that  he  soon  vanished 
from  public  observation. 

A  little  subsequent  to  these  events,  the  Rev.  John  Sherman 
was  settled  as  an  orthodox  pastor  of  the  South  Church  in 
Mansfield.  He  soon  swerved  from  what  the  people  of  his 
charge  and  the  surrounding  clergy  and  churches  took  him  to 
be.  After  a  violent  struggle,  the  church  and  society  on  one 
side  and  he  on  the  other,  called  a  mutual  council,  part  orthodox 
and  part  Unitarian.  After  a  session  of  heat  and  strife  he  was 
dismissed  from  his  charge.  The  church  having  obtained  re- 
lief has  since  progressed  in  its  original  integrity,  accommodated 
with  pastors  faithful  to  their  trust. 

A  sequel  to  the  council  at  Mansfield  is  worthy  of  note.  The 
Rev.  Henry  Channing,  pastor  of  a  church  in  New  London,  was 
the  moderator  of  that  council.  He  had  been  settled  as  an  ortho- 
dox minister  ;  but  after  two  years,  had  become  covertly  a  Uni- 
tarian, and  remained  such  for  seventeen  years.  Though  in  the 
chair,  he  so  displayed  himself  as  the  advocate  of  Mr.  Sherman, 
that  the  Association  of  New  London  County  immediately 
passed  and  placed  on  record  resolutions  that  they  would  not 


276  Unitarians. 

exchange  pulpits  with  a  man  who  denied  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  or  of  the  personality  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  As  a  test  to  try  his  own  church  and  people,  Mr. 
Channing  proposed  to  them  to  increase  his  salary,  or  to  unite 
with  him  in  calling  a  council  for  his  dismission.  They  unan- 
imously complied  with  the  last  item  of  his  request,  and  he  be- 
came a  wandering  apostle  of  the  theology  to  which  he  gave 
himself  a  martyr. 

While  these  events  were  passing,  the  Rev.  Abiel  Abbot  was 
settled  as  pastor  of  the  church  in  South  Coventry.  He  was  from 
Massachusetts.  His  ministry  had  not  progressed  far  before  he 
developed  his  Unitarian  sentiments.  For  redress,  or  relief,  the 
church  called  in  the  Consociation.  He  denied  its  jurisdiction  ; 
nevertheless  the  Consociation  dismissed  him.  He  convoked 
an  ex-parte  council,  which  declared  the  result  of  the  Consocia- 
tion null,  and  that  Mr.  Abbot  was  still  in  his  pastoral  office. 
The  decision  of  the  Consociation,  however,  was  respected,  arid 
Mr.  Abbott  withdrew. 

In  the  old  age  of  Dr.  Whitney,  of  Brooklyn,  Mr.  Luther 
Wilson,  a  young  clergyman,  was  brought  in  to  aid  the  aged 
pastor  in  his  services.  Whatever  might  have  been  expected  of 
Mr.  Wilson,  he  was  soon  known  as  a  preacher  of  Unitarian 
doctrines.  The  old  tenant  of  the  pulpit  was  aroused  to  a 
more  distinctive  exhibition  of  Calvinistic  docrines  than  for 
years  he  had  been  accustomed  to  make.  To  him  the  church 
mainly  adhered.  The  young  man,  however,  attracted  to  him- 
self a  party  who,  acting  as  a  majority,  voted  their  aged  pastor 
and  his  church  out  of  the  parochial  house  for  worship,  and 
subjected  them  to  the  expense  of  erecting  a  new  building. 
This  they  manfully  encountered,  and,  under  a  succession  of 
able  and  faithful  pastors,  they  have  remained,  and  they  still  re- 
main, the  strong  church  of  Brooklyn.  Mr.  Wilson,  af- 
ter a  few  years  of  isolated  ministration  and  diminished  influ- 
ence, winning  nothing  from  surrounding  churches  or  societies, 
left  for  distant  fields  of  enterprise.  He  left  behind  him 
a  people  obscurely  known  as  prolonging  an  intermittent 
ministration  of  a  changeful  gospel. 

Early  in  the  present  century  a  Mr.  Leonard  became  the 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Canterbury.  He  had  studied  theology 


Universalists.  277 

with  a  clergyman  of  Connecticut,  who  taught  the  common 
faith  of  our  churches.  Mr.  Leonard,  however,  so  preached  that 
he  was  soon  regarded  as  a  Unitarian,  and  he  was,  after  a  short 
time,  dismissed  from  his  charge.  Trinitarian  pastors  have  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  no  characteristic  effects  of  his  ministry  in 
Canterbury  have  been  reported. 

These  are  the  prominent  instances — perhaps  all  the  instances 
worthy  of  note — in  which  strenuous  efforts  have  been  made  to 
seduce  our  churches  from  their  faith  in  their  Divine  Saviour. 
They  have  all  proved  abortive,  notwithstanding  the  churches 
have  not  been  put  under  the  shelter  of  a  general  confession  of 
faith. 

Besides  these  attempts  to  win  some  of  our  churches  to  Uui- 
tarianism,  enterprises  have  been  undertaken  to  establish  a  few 
original  institutions  of  this  exotic  religion.  In  Hartford,  Nor- 
wich, and  in  a  few  others  of  our  populous  towns,  congregations 
have  been  gathered.  The  beginning  of  these  ministrations 
have  been  proclaimed  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet  before 
them ;  yet,  their  progress  has  been  feeble,  their  attainments 
have  been  unsuccessful,  and  their  end  has,  in  most  instances, 
been  witnessed. 

The  experiment,  for  more  than  half  a  century,  shows  that 
the  population  of  our  state,  influenced  directly  or  indirectly 
by  our  Congregational  ministry  and  churches,  is  not  a  soil  in 
which  Unitarianism  easily  takes  root. 

2.  Nor  is  it  more  congenial  to  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Sal- 
vation. People  professing  this  are  an  omnipresent  sect. 
Though  they  dwell  in  the  presence  of  all  their  brethren,  their 
institutions  throughout  Christendom  are  of  a  fluctuating  charac- 
ter. In  no  part  of  the  world  have  they  been,  it  is  conceived, 
more  unstable  than  in  Connecticut.  The  boon  which  their 
theory  proposes  may  be  had  without  institutions,  without 
ministrations,  and  even  without  faith  during  the  present  life. 
Why  should  men  tax  themselves  for  what  all  may  have,  and 
all  will  have,  whether  they  will  or  not,  without  money  and 
without  price  ?  No  one  doctrine  in  the  whole  catalogue  of 
errors  has  been  more  generally  or  constantly  denounced,  ex- 
posed and  refuted  by  the  Congregational  ministers  and  churches 
of  Connecticut  than  that  of  Universal  Salvation.  Still,  so  con- 


278  Universalisls, 

venient  and  welcome  a  hiding  place  does  it  present  from  the 
call  to  immediate  repentance  and  faith,  backed  by  the  doctrine 
of  an  endless  reprobation,  which  may,  any  moment,  become 
irretrievable,  that  individuals  will  often  be  found  loosely  con- 
nected with  orthodox  congregations,  or  living  in  their  neigh- 
borhood, who  try  to  believe,  or  profess  to  believe,  that  none  of 
the  human  race  will  be  subjected  to  endless  punishment. 
Such  individuals,  by  experiment,  find  that  it  is  no  more  prac- 
ticable to  shelter  themselves  from  the  appeals  of  the  Gospel, 
honestly  expounded,  under  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation, 
than  by  an  open  profession  of  infidelity. 

Occasionally,  in  the  past,  here  and  there  in  a  parish,  attempts, 
with  short  lived  success,  have  been  made  to  gather  a  congre- 
gation of  Uni versa! ists  for  public  worship.  A  rich  individual, 
or  a  combination  of  a  few  such,  has  had  the  temerity  to  build 
a  church.  The  outlay,  with  rare  exceptions,  has  proved  an 
entire  failure.  The  stock  in  it  has  been  found  not  to  pay. 
The  zeal  for  an  antagonistic  Gospel  has  been  quenched  by  the 
subsequent  and  prospective  experience  of  a  prolonged  ministra- 
tion ;  the  house,  with  debt  hanging  over  it,  has  gone  into  the 
hands  of  some  other  denomination,  or  has  been  converted  to 
some  secular  use.  To  prevent  such  a  catastrophe,  resort  has 
sometimes  been  had  to  a  metropolitan  policy.  A  church  has 
been  built  in  a  populous  town,  and  little  streamlets  of  a  liberal 
Christianity,  so  called,  have  been  caused  to  run  into  it  from 
many  surrounding  towns.  By  this  device  an  institution,  feebly 
sustained  by  the  population  of  the  place  where  it  is,  has  kept 
itself  in  public  observation  and  sustained  public  worship  for 
some  length  of  time. 

Murray,  in  his  day,  visited  Connecticut  not  unfrequently,  and 
tarried  and  labored  in  much  hope  and  with  some  effect.  If  he 
gathered  any  church  or  congregation,  it  did  not  survive  him  in 
any  distinct  and  permanent  existence.  Winchester  died  at 
Hartford.  On  his  death  bed  he  sought  counsel  from  the  dis- 
tinguished pastor  of  the  North  Church  in  that  city.  Dr.  Strong 
testified  that  he  manifested  amiable  affections,  though  lament- 
ably deluded  concerning  one  point  of  doctrine. 

No  Congregational  church  in  the  state  has  ever  apostatized 
to  Universalism.  Some  few  churches  have  at  times  suffered 


Universalists.  279 

from  the  infection  of  its  doctrines,  but  no  one  has  ever  been 
extinguished.  Very  few  of  the  pastors  of  our  churches  have 
been  suspected  of  being  even  covertly  tinctured  with  this  heresy. 
Dr.  Joseph  Huntington,  pastor  of  the  church  in  South  Coventry, 
who  died  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  preserved  a  reputation 
for  orthodoxy  until  the  close  of  his  life.  But  he  left  a  posthu- 
mous manuscript,  in  which  he  advocated  the  restoration  of  all 
men  to  holiness  and  salvation.  His  family  divulged  the  fact,  and 
submitted  the  disposal  of  the  writing  to  the  discretion  of  a 
company  of  ministers,  by  whose  advice  it  was  published,  and 
soon  received  its  quietus  from  a  refutation  by  Dr.  Strong,  of 
Hartford,  entitled  "  Benevolence  and  Misery." 

The  theory  of  this  sect,  if  theory  it  can  be  said  to  have,  has 
undergone  a  very  considerable  change  within  twenty  or  thirty 
years  past.  During  the  early  stages  of  the  appearance  of 
Universalists  among  us,  they  were  ambitious  to  preach  Calvin- 
istic  doctrines,  until  they  came  to  the  final  point  of  the  repro- 
bation of  a  part  of  mankind.  Orthodoxy  was  their  grand 
proselyting  argument.  The  reply  of  Congregationalists  was, 
that  the  nearer  a  scheme  of  theology  came  to  the  truth,  the 
more  dangerous  it  was,  if,  in  the  end,  it  ignored  or  denied  the 
great  sanction  of  the  divine  law  and  Gospel.  In  late  years  Uni- 
versalists seem  to  have  relied  very  little  on  the  atonement,  or  on 
the  efficacy  of  any  grace  peculiar  to  the  Gospel ;  but,  in  com- 
mon with  infidels,  they  counsel  men  to  confide  in  the  uncove- 
nanted  gentleness  and  mercy  of  God.  He  is  too  good  to  inflict 
lasting  evil  upon  his  creatures. 

Formerly,  Universalists  presented  themselves  in  two  divis- 
ions :  Redemptionists,  who  ridiculed  the  fear  of  any  punish- 
ment after  death,  and  Restorationists,  who  inculcated  the  ex- 
pectation of  future  punishment,  which  would  be  remedial,  and 
would  be  successful  in  reclaiming  all  men  to  holiness  and 
happiness.  The  great  mass  of  the  population  of  this  state 
have,  at  all  times,  been  preserved  from  confidence  in  either  of 
these  snares.  Their  distrust  was  well  expressed  by  the  cele- 
brated Mr.  Pierpont  Edwards,  who  said  to  Mr.  Dodd.  of  Hart- 
ford, that  neither  the  doctrine  of  no  punishment  after  death,  nor 
that  of  a  limited  punishment  was  salutary  for  man  while  in 
this  life  ;  "  for,"  said  he,  "  we  are  such  rascals,  that  while  the 


280  Separates. 

Gospel,  in  its  true  import,  is  preached,  we  can  hardly  live  to- 
gether ;  but,  were  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation  generally 
credited,  earth  would  be  turned  into  a  hell  before  the  time." 

3.  About  ninety  years  ago  a  secession  from  the  Congrega- 
tional churches  actually  occurred  of  people  who  formed  them- 
selves into  churches  of  a  distinct  denomination  called  Sepa- 
rates. 

After  Whitfield  had  passed  through  the  country,  and  great 
effects  had  been  produced  by  divine  grace  attending  his  minis- 
trations, other  ministers,  especially  one  from  Long  Island,  un- 
dertook to  be  his  followers.  They  had  his  zeal,  but  not  all  of 
them  his  discretion.  Some  of  the  Congregational  churches 
welcomed,  and  some  of  them  discouraged  and  even  withstood 
these  itinerants.  They  were  not  sent,  but  they  ran.  They, 
perhaps  without  mistake,  regarded  some  of  the  pastors  who  de- 
barred them  from  their  pulpits  as  cold  and  unenterprising  in 
the  work  of  the  ministry.  Some  of  the  members  of  our 
churches  and  congregations,  disregarding  the  counsels  of  their 
ministers,  were  determined  to  hear  and  follow  these  new 
preachers.  As  a  consequence,  divisions  occurred,  separate  con- 
gregations for  worship  were  instituted  ;  some  of  these  assumed 
permanence,  and  in  some  few  of  them  churches  were  formally 
established.  The  churches,  from  which  large  secessions  were 
made,  were  enfeebled  ;  some  of  them  dwindled  for  a  long  time, 
but  none  of  them  became  extinct ;  all  of  them,  by  our  domes- 
tic enterprise,  have  been  restored  to  prosperity  and  strength. 

The  new  churches,  called  Separates,  or,  as  they  preferred. 
Strict  Congregationalists,  were  not  a  new  sect  in  the  main 
elements  of  evangelical  doctrine.  They  were  New  Lights  in 
common  with  many  of  the  old  churches  and  ministers.  But 
they  justified  their  separation  from  the  churches  from  which 
they  withdrew  on  other  grounds.  They  objected  to  the 
ordination  of  ministers  by  councils,  or,  as  the  Gospel  has 
it,  "  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery."  Each 
of  their  churches  ordained  its  own  pastor.  They  objected  to 
the  support  of  the  ministry  by  taxes  authorized  and  regulated  by 
civil  law,  and  adopted  what  we  have  initiated,  the  voluntary 
policy,  thus  making  an  advance,  which  we  concede  to  them,  in 
religious  liberty.  They  abhorred  the  civil  enactments  which 


Separates.  28 1 

authorized  and  regulated  our  associations  and  consociations, 
which  enactments  have,  long  since,  become  obsolete,  and  have 
left  these  institutions  to  rest,  as  they  should,  on  the  voluntary 
principle. 

But  two  Congregational  churches,  as  churches,  in  the  state 
became  Separates — that  of  Torrington  and  one  in  the  south  of 
Middletown.  These  reverted,  one  soon  and  the  other  after  no 
long  time,  to  their  original  connection  with  Congregation- 
alists.  The  churches  which  were  instituted  as  the  result  of  sep- 
aration, continued  for  one  generation,  some  of  them  for  two  : 
they  then  found  it  impossible  to  obtain  ministers,  their  senti- 
ment concerning  ordination  was  corrected,  the  obnoxious  civil 
enactments  passed  away,  and  they  said  that  the  reasons  for  their 
separation  had  ceased  to  exist,  so  they  were  merged  again  into 
Congregationalism,  and,  as  a  sect,  are  no  longer  known.  They 
went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  of  us :  their  return  was 
natural,  pleasant  to  us,  and  honorable  both  to  their  candor  and 
to  our  common  religion. 

4.  Millerites.  a  sect  of  Second  Adventists,  have,  within  a  few 
years,  flashed  upon  Connecticut,  as  they  have  upon  many  parts 
of  the  country,  and  in  many  places  have  gained  more  adhe- 
rents than  they  have  in  this  state.  They  hold,  in  common 
with  Christians  at  large,  the  doctrine  of  the  second  coming  to 
this  earth  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  distinctive  feature  of 
the  sect  is,  that  they  know  and  foretel  the  precise  time  of  "  the 
coming,"  fix  the  day,  and  when  the  event  nullifies  their  pre- 
diction, they  appoint  the  day  again  and  again.  They  gain 
very  few,  if  any,  proselytes  from  our  Congregational  churches, 
and  few  from  people  instructed  in  our  Sabbath  schools  or  con- 
gregations. Individuals  constitutionally  fanatical,  and  without 
mental  strength  or  culture  to  detect  or  resist  imposition,  have 
given  in  their  zealous  adhesion  to  the  faith  that  the  day  of  the 
Lord  is  at  the  door,  and  that  it  is  as  clearly  revealed  and  pre- 
cisely known  as  any  day  of  any  future  month.  To  them  it 
has  availed  nothing  that  Christ  said,  "  But  of  that  day  and  that 
hour  knoweth  no  man  :  no,  not  the  angels  which  are  in 
heaven  ;  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father."  These  people 
have  had  the  calamity,  and  mortification  of  having  their 
religious  expectations  again  and  again  disappointed;  and,  as  the 

37 


282  Spiritualists. 

i 

coming  of  the  judgment  was  to  bring  with  it  the  end  of  the 
world,  the  real  believers,  those  who  were  actually  deluded,  part- 
ed with  their  property,  and  brought  themselves  and  their  fam- 
ilies into  want  and  distress.  Less  of  this  folly  and  suffer- 
ing has  been  experienced  in  this  state  than  in  many  other 
parts  of  the  country.  Hardly  any,  perhaps  none,  of  the  mem- 
bers of  our  Congregational  churches  have  become  spectacles 
of  this  kind,  and  very  rarely  have  any  people  who  have  sat 
under  the  preaching  of  our  ministry  become  the  victims  of  this 
delusion. 

5.  Spiritualism  has  ventured  within  our  borders,  as  it  has 
into  other  parts  of  this  country  and  other  lands.  It  is  a 
matter  of  jugglery,  rather  than  a  religion.  Still,  as  it  pur- 
ports to  bring  intelligence  from  the  world  of  the  dead  to  peo- 
ple now  on  probation,  it  has  the  audacity  to  take  precedence 
of  the  Bible  as  a  basis  of  faith.  The  Bible  commits 
the  instruction  of  this  world  to  the  scriptures,  and  to 
living  men,  who  expound  and  inculcate  them,  but  ignores  the 
teachings  of  dead  men.  Spiritualists  fear  not  that  their  names 
will  be  taken  from  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,  because  they  add 
to  what  is  written  in  God's  finished  revelation. 

Their  assemblies  are  brought  together  more  commonly  for 
amusement,  curiosity,  and  the  detection  of  imposition,  than  to 
express  veneration  to  God,  or  to  engage  in  religious  rites.  Con- 
gregationalists  find  little  occasion  or  motive  to  refute  the 
pretence  that  intelligence  is  communicated  by  the  dead  to  the 
living,  for  were  the  concesssion  made  to  Spiritualists  that 
through  a  medium  they  get  communications  from  the  un- 
seen world,  it  is  sufficient  to  ask  what  are  these  communi- 
cations ?  No  doctrines,  no  precepts  of  God,  are  brought  to 
this  world  by  what  assumes  to  be  a  new  revelation.  Friv- 
olous, and  often  absurd  sayings  of  dead  men,  some  of  whom, 
while  living,  were  respected,  and  some  of  whom  were  not 
respected  for  their  veracity,  are  impudently  reported.  Were 
the  sum  total  of  all  that  has  been  paraded  as  communica- 
tions from  the  dead  written  in  a  book,  that  book  would  not 
contain  anything  which  would  improve  the  morals  of  this 
world,  or  increase  the  knowledge  or  consolation  of  men  now 


Rogerines.  283 

living,  and  soon  to  die.  So  confident  are  people  instructed  in 
our  congregations  and  schools,  that  the  apostles  of  spiritualism 
seek  money,  a  sickly  admiration,  a  renown  tottering 
though  it  be  on  imminent  exposure,  and  not  the  salva- 
vation  of  their  disciples,  that  this  new  version  of  fanaticism  is 
regarded  as  too  impotent  to  make  any  inroad  upon  our  religious 
denomination. 

We  have,  in  this  country,  the  fulness  of  religious  freedom. 
We  have  been  abundantly  warned  that  without  a  general  con- 
fession of  faith  our  churches  will  be  swallowed  up  by  wild 
doctrines  and  disorder ;  but,  counselled  as  we  are  by  the  expe- 
rience of  more  than  two  centuries,  we  feel  a  strong  assurance 
that  these  churches,  organized  as  they  are.  connected  and  uni- 
ted as  they  are,  will  still  rest  upon  Christ  as  their  foundation, 
rejoicing  in  their  integrity  and  peace. 

ERRATTII.— Page  280,  line  37,  for  "initiated"  read  "imitated." 

[There  have  been  also  two  small  sects  of  religionists  of  the 
same  class  with  the  above  who  ought  not  to  be  passed  by  wholly 
unnoticed  in  this  place, — especially  as  they  belonged  to 
Connecticut,  and  were  mostly,  if  not  wholly,  confined  to  our 
borders.  A  few  words  are  demanded  concerning  them  from 
this  circumstance,  rather  than  because  of  their  numbers  or  im- 
portance. 

ROGERINES*. — This  sect  took  their  name  from  John  Rog- 
ers, their  chief  leader.  They  first  appeared  in  New  London 
County  about  1720.  They  took  it  upon  themselves,  as  fanatics 
frequently  do,  to  utter  special  denunciations  and  anathemas 
against  the  regular  ministry,  however  useful  and  godly.  Rog- 
ers, it  is  said,  once  met  Dr.  Lord  of  Norwich  Town,  at  the 
door  of  his  meeting-house,  and  accosted  him  after  his  usual 
manner  of  vulgar  abuse  with  these  words,  as  he  took  off  his 
hat,  displaying  a  majestic  wig  :  "  Benjamin,  Benjamin,  dost 
thou  think  that  they  wear  white  wigs  in  heaven  ? "  Dr. 
Lord  passed  him  and  took  no  notice  of  the  insult.  The  prin- 
cipal distinguishing  tenet  of  this  sect  was,  that  worship  per- 
formed on  the  first  day  of  the  week  was  a  species  of  idolatry 
which  they  ought  to  oppose.  They  held  it  also  to  be  their  special 

*  Trumbuirs  Hist,  of  Conn.,  vol.  II.,  pp.  88-<0. 


284  Sundemanians. 

mission  to  destroy  priestcraft.  In  carrying  out  their  peculiar 
notions,  they  used  a  variety  of  measures  to  disturb  those  who 
were  assembled  for  public  worship  on  the  Lord's  day.  They 
traveled  about  in  small  companies,  and  entered  churches  and 
other  places  of  worship  in  a  rude  and  boisterous  manner,  and 
sometimes  engaged  in  different  kinds  of  manual  labor  in  order 
to  break  up  and  interrupt  the  religious  services.  Though 
claiming  the  right  to  dissent  from  the  views  of  the  ministry 
and  churches  among  whom  they  had  sprung  up,  they  seemed 
to  have  no  true  idea  of  religious  liberty  and  toleration,  as  was 
evident  from  their  constant  disturbance  of  the  peaceful  wor- 
ship of  others. 

SANDEMANIANS. — This  sect  originated  in  Scotland.  They 
received  the  name  of  Glasites  after  John  Glas ;  but  in  England 
and  in  this  country,  they  were  called  Sandemanians  after  Rob- 
ert Sandeman.  They  held  as  one  of  their  distinguishing  tenets, 
in  the  language  of  Mr.  Sandeman,  that  "  the  essence  of  justify- 
ing faith  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  bare  belief  of  the 
bare  truth."  By  this  they  meant  nothing  more  than  mere  specu- 
lative or  intellectual  belief ;  for,  practically,  they  admitted  all 
to  their  church  privileges  who  avowed  such  faith,  although  in 
their  lives  they  gave  no  evidence  of  vital  piety.  They  also 
administered  the  Lord's  Supper  weekly ;  had  love  feasts,  in 
which  all  were  required  to  partake,  dining  together  at  each 
other's  houses  in  the  interval  of  divine  service  ;  they  gave 
"  the  kiss  of  charity  "  in  admitting  new  members  and  at  other 
times  ;  they  had  a  weekly  collection  before  the  Lord's  Supper 
for  their  necessary  expenses  and  for  the  poor.  They  made 
much  of  mutual  exhortations  ;  abstinence  from  blood  and  things 
strangled ;  washing  each  others'  feet ;  community  of  goods  so 
far  as  the  wants  of  the  poor  and  of  the  church  required  ;  the 
unlawfulness  of  laying  up  treasures  upon  earth,  or  setting  them 
apart  for  any  future  uncertain  use, — all  which  things  they  un- 
derstood to  be  taught  in  the  scriptures.  They  held  to  the  plu- 
rality of  elders  in  each  church,  and  the  need  of  the  presence 
of  at  least  two  elders  in  all  cases  of  discipline  and  at  the  Lord's 
Supper  ;  the  want  of  learning  or  engagement  in  trade  being 
no  disqualification  for  the  office.  They  were  intolerant  toward 
other  Christians,  and  were  not  disposed  to  admit  strangers  to 


Sandemanians.  285 

their  worship.  They  declared  that  they  took  the  Bible  for 
their  guide,  discarding  articles  of  faith  and  a  paid  ministry. 
They  regarded  the  lot  as  sacred,  and  disapproved  of  all  common 
forms  of  its  use.  In  all  their  transactions,  unanimity  was  re- 
garded as  essential.  Their  worship  was  orderly  and  to  some 
extent,  perhaps,  profitable  ;  but  some  of  their  principles  led 
them  into  error  and  disorderly  practices. 

Mr.  Sandeman  was  invited  to  come  to  this  country  by  some 
who  had  heard  of  his  views  ;  and,  after  forming  a  few  socie- 
ties, he  died  at  Danbury  in  1771.  Three  or  four  of  the  neigh- 
boring ministers  were  favorably  impressed  by  his  views  and 
came  under  his  influence.  Much  trouble  was  caused  thereby  in 
Danbury  andNewtown.  A  majority  of  the  church  in  Danbury 
became  Sandemanian,  and  that  in  Newtown  became  so  weaken- 
ed as  to  be  reorganized  with  nine  members  in  1799.  In  1768, 
the  Fairfield  East  Association,  who  had  taken  a  decided  stand 
against  the  innovation,  stated  publicly  that  as  a  body,  they 
were  tinctured  with  Sandemanianism.  See  the  Historical 
Sketch  of  that  body  in  this  volume.  The  influence  of  the 
Sandemanian  views  has  not  spread,  though  they  have  not  be- 
come extinct  so  rapidly  as  might  have  been  expected.  There 
is  still  a  small  community  of  them  at  Danbury.  See  Andrew 
Fuller's  Works ;  Historical  Sketch  Fairfield  East  Consoc., 
1859  ;  Sprague's  Annals,  1.  297 ;  Relig.  Encyc.j — Com.  of 
Pub. 


SUMMARY  OF  DECISIONS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 
CONNECTICUT  IN  ECCLESIASTICAL  CASES.* 


If  a  society  vote  to  hold  their  annual  meetings  upon  a  certain 
day  in  each  succeeding  year,  a  meeting  held  on  the  day  so 
fixed,  without  further  notice,  is  not  legal,  even  after  a  practice 
of  holding  them  thus  for  fifty  years. — 4  Day,  62 :  East 
Granby,  1809. 

The  formation  of  a  second  ecclesiastical  society  within  the 
limits  of  a  town,  vested  all  the  rights  which  the  town  in  its 
ecclesiastical  capacity  before  had  in  the  remaining  inhabitants 
of  the  town  as  a  first  society  ;  and  a  voluntary  release  from  the 
first  society  to  the  second  of  a  portion  of  the  lands  sequestered 
for  the  use  of  the  ministry,  and  held  by  the  town,  vested  a 
good  title  in  the  second  society  to  the  land  released  for  such 
uses.— 4  Day,  360;  Suffield,  1810. 

The  pastoral  office  with  which  a  minister,  duly  called  by  an 
ecclesiastical  society,  and  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the  gospel 
ministry,  as  pastor  of  such  society  and  of  the  church  therein, 
thus  became  vested,  was  an  office  not  determinable  at  the  will 
of  either  party,  but  for  the  life  of  the  incumbent. 

What  acts  or  omissions  of  the  incumbent  create  a  forfeiture 
of  the  pastoral  office,  and  thereby  incapacitate  him  for  the  per- 
formance of  pastoral  duties,  is  a  question  not  within  the  pro- 
vince of  a  court  of  law  to  determine — it  being  exclusively 
within  the  cognizance  of  an  ecclesiastical  tribunal. 

The  offering  and  attempt  of  a  minister  to  preach,  who  was 
prevented  by  the  society  by  a  vote,  and  by  a  commitee  shutting 


*It  was  expected  that  a  paper  would  have  been  prepared  "  on  the  rights  and  rela- 
tions of  pastors,  churches  and  societies,"  to  which  this  abstract  of  the  "  Decisions  of 
the  Courts"  was  to  have  been  appended.  The  pressure  of  other  duties  has 
rendered  it  impossible  for  the  gentleman  who  had  it  in  charge  to  furnish  the 
paper  in  season  for  the  present  volume.  This  is  much  to  be  regretted,  since  ignorance 
or  misunderstanding  on  the  subject  is  a  source  of  much  evil.  The  article  may  bo 
given  to  our  churches  soon  in  another  form. 


Decisions  of  the  Courts.  287 

him  out  of  their  meeting-house,  was  held  equivalent  to  the 
actual  performance  of  that  pastoral  duty. —  Whitney  vs.  Brook- 
lyn, 5  Conn.,  405,  1824. 

An  ecclesiastical  society,  established  by  local  limits, 
before  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  this  state,  is  not  by 
that  constitution,  and  the  subsequent  laws  relating  to  religious 
societies,  divested  of  its  local  character. 

The  statute  of  1702,  exempting  from  taxation  all  such  lands, 
tenements,  hereditaments  and  other  estates  as  had  been  or  should 
be  given,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  ministry  of  the  gospel, 
extends  to  money  at  interest  given  for  that  object.  The 
government  has  contracted  that  all  such  property  shall  be  for- 
ever exempt  from  taxation,  so  long  as  it  is  applied  to  such  uses  ; 
and  has  no  constitutional  right  or  power  to  rescind  or  impair 
such  contract.  It  was  held,  therefore,  that  a  tax  laid  by  the 
town  of  Woodbridge  on  such  funds  in  the  society  of  Bethany, 
then  in  that  town,  was  illegal. 

It  seems  that  the  private  property  of  the  members  of  an 
ecclesiastical  society,  duly  organized,  may  be  taken  on  a 
legal  warrant  against  the  society. — Atwater  vs.  Woodbridge, 
6  Conn.  223  ;  1826. 

Where  funds  were  subscribed  to  be  appropriated  to  the 
support  of  a  minister,  to  be  approved  by  the  association,  within 
whose  limits  the  subscribers  lived — and  he  was  ordained  by 
the  consociation,  within  the  same  limits  (the  ministers  present 
and  concurring  being  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  associa- 
tion]— and  was  ever  afterward  recognized  by  the  association 
as  a  member,  it  was  held,  that  this  condition  of  the  subscrip- 
tion was  complied  with. — Somers  vs.  Miner,  9  Conn.,  458  ; 
Woodbury,  1833. 

The  committee  of  an  ecclesiastical  society,  appointed  under 
the  statute  "  for  the  year  ensuing,"  continue  to  hold  their 
offices  after  the  expiration  of  the  year,  until  suspended  by  the 
appointment  of  another  committee. 

To  constitute  a  legal  meeting  of  an  ecclesiastical  society, 
having  a  committee,  it  must  be  warned  by  that  committee. 

The  power  given  by  statute  to  an  ecclesiastical  society,  to 


288  Decisions  of  the  Courts. 

prescribe  the  mode  of  warning  its  meetings,  does  not  enable  it 
to  dispense  with  a  warning  by  its  committee. 

Where  the  clerk  of  the  society,  there  being  a  committee, 
affixed  the  names  of  the  committee  to  a  warning,  and  posted 
it  upon  the  public  sign  post,  without  either  the  previous 
authority  or  subsequent  ratification  of  the  committee,  it  was 
held  that  such  warning  was  ineffectual. — Bethany  Society  vs. 
Sperry,  10  Conn.  200 ;  1834. 

The  members  of  an  ecclesiastical  society,  without  local 
limits  formed  by  voluntary  association,  pursuant  to  the  13th 
section  of  the  statute,  relating  to  religious  societies,  are  not 
individually  liable  for  the  debts  of  such  society. — Jewett  vs. 
Thames  Bank,  16  Conn.  511;  Norwich  Falls  Soc.,  1844. 

The  name  of  a  voluntary  ecclesiastical  corporation,  formed 
under  the  laws  of  this  state,  without  a  special  legislative  act 
of  incorporation,  is  arbitrary,  and  a  change  or  alteration  in  its 
name  does  not  affect  its  identity. — Trinity  Church,  Portland, 
vs.  Hall,  22  Conn.,  125  ;  1852. 

Since  the  adoption  of  our  present  state  constitution,  how- 
ever it  may  have  been  before,  it  is  not  competent  to  the 
legislature  to  divide  an  ancient,  local  or  territorial  ecclesiastical 
society,  into  two  or  more  such  societies,  or  divide  the  fund 
owned  by  such  ancient  society,  for  the  support  of  the 
ministry,  and  to  assign  a  part  of  such  fund  to  a  new  society, 
formed  out  of  the  ancient  one. — 23  Connecticut,  255 ;  Port- 
land. 1854. 


HALF  CENTURY  MINISTERS. 

The  following  list,  collected  from  the  church  reports  chiefly, 
compared  with  Dr.  Sprague's  Annals,  and  Dr.  Allen's  Biogra- 
phical Dictionary,  is  intended  to  give  the  names  of  all  minis- 
ters who  were  born  in  Connecticut,  or  here  received  their  early 
education  and  license  to  preach  the  gospel,  who  attained  to  the 
ministerial  age  of  fifty  years.  The  list  contains  the  names  of 
two  hundred  and  fifteen  ministers,  of  whom  twenty-two  were 
supposed  to  be  living  July  1st,  1860,  and  only  forty-one  have 
not  ministered  to  our  churches.  Of  this  latter  class  there  are 
probably  others  who  have  been  in  the  ministry  fifty  years, 
but  the  fact  has  not  been  ascertained.  Of  nine  the  age  is  put 
down  as  49,  but  probably  by  reckoning  from  the  date  of  their 
license,  as  Dr.  Sprague  does,  the  most  of  these  attained  the  full 
period  of  50  years.  Many  more  were  in  the  ministry  nearly 
fifty  years.  The  average  of  the  whole  is  about  fifty-five 
years.  Five  in  italics,  not  counted  above,  did  not  continue 
in  the  Congregational  ministry,  though  once  pastors. 

Abiel  Abbott,  D.  n.,  .  .  .  Coventry  ;  New  Hampshire,  64 
*Caleb  Alexandei1,  .  .  .  Lie.  New  London,    .  .  .  Mass.; 

New  York,  50 

Timothy  Allen,  .  .  .  West  Haven  ;  Ashford  ;  Massachusetts,  68 

Samuel  Andrew,  .  .  .  Milford,  53 

Samuel  Allis,  .  .  .  Somers,  69 
Thomas  Anclros,  .  .  .  n.  Plainfield, .  .  .  Lie.  New  London,  .  .  . 

Berkley,  Massachusetts,  58 

Elisha  Atkins,  .  .  .  East  Putnam,  (formerly  North  Killingly),  55 
Jeremiah    Atwater,  D.  D.,  ...  Pres.  Middlebury  Col.,  .  .  . 

Northford  ;  New  Hayen,  60 
David  Austin,  .  .  .  Bozrah,  51 
fJohn  Bacon,  .  .  .  n.  Canterbury,  .  .  .  Boston  ;  Stockbridge,  50 
Simon  Backus,  .  .  .  Massachusetts ;  North  Madison,  66 
| Joseph  Badger,  .  .  .  Lie.  New  Haven,  .  .  .  Plymouth ;  Massa- 
chusetts ;  Ohio,  60 


*Sprague's  An.  3, 405.  Mendon  Assoc.  128  fSpr.  An.  1,  686,  Allen,  J  Spr.  An.  3,  478. 

38 


290  Half  Century  Ministers. 

Jonathan  Bartlett,  . .  .  Redding,  62 
Nathaniel  Bartlett,  .  .  .  Redding,  57 
Shubael  Bartlett,  .  .  .  East  Windsor,  51 
Archibald  Bassett,  .  .  .  Winchester ;  Hew  York,  59 
John  Beach,  .  . .  Newtown,  .  .  .  became  an  Episcopalian,  57 
Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Litchfield  ;  Ohio,  living,  60 
George  Beckwith,  .  .  .  Lyme;  Hamburgh,  55 
Joshua  Belden,  .  .  .  Newington,  66 
Joseph  Bellamy,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Bethlem,  50 
Noah  Benedict,  .  .  .  Woodbury,  53 
Nathan  Birdseye, .  .  .  West  Haven ;  retired  and  lived  in  Strat- 
ford, 60  years,  76 
John  Bishop,  .  .  .  Stamford,  50 
Joel  Bordell,  .  .  .  Kent,  53 
Joab  Brace,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Newington  ;  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  living,  54 
Israel  Brainerd,  .  .  .  Guilford ;  Verona,  New  York,  54 
Diodate  Brock  way,  .  .  .  Ellington,  50 
Gershom  Bulkley, .  .  .  New  London  ;  Wethersfield,  52 
Gershom  Bulkley, .  .  .  Cromwell,  54 
*Samuel  Buel,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Coventry,  ....  Lie.  New  Haven, 

.  .  .  Long  Island,  57 

Platt  Buffett,  .  . .  Stanwich.  54 
Eden  Burroughs,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  S.  Ch.  Killingly ;  New  Hampshire,      53 

fAsa  Burton,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Stonington  ;  .  .  .  Vermont,  59 

Thomas  Canfield,  .  .  .  Roxbury,  51 

Judah  Champion,  .  .  .  Litchfield,  57 

Calvin  Chapin,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Rocky  Hill,  60 
JJedediah  Chapman,  .  .  .  n.  East  Haddam ,   .  .  .  Orange, 

New  Jersey,  49 

Amos  Chase,  .  .  .  Morris,  (formerly  South  Farms),  62 

§Ebenezer .  Chaplin,  .  .  .  n.  Chaplin  ,  .  .  .  Massachusetts.  58 

Nathaniel  Chauncey,  .  .  .  Durham,  50 

Aaron  Church,  .  .  .  Hartland,  50 
Noah  Coe,  .  .  .  New  York ;  Greenwich ;  New  Haven,    living,     50 

James  Cogswell,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Canterbury ;  Scotland,  63 

Daniel  Collins,  .  .  .  n.  Guilford,  .  .  .  Lanesboro,  Mass.,  58 

Nathaniel  Collins,  .  .  .  Enfield,  59 

Timothy  Collins,  .  .  .  Litchfield,  53 

George  Colton,  .  .  .  Bolton,  49 

Andrew  Croswell,  .  .  .  Ledyard ;  Boston,  49 

Jeremiah  Curtiss,  .  .  .  Southington,  67 

02,  Allen.    fSpr.  An.  2, 140.    JSpr.  An.  8,  95.     §Mend.  Assoc.  168. 


Half  Century  Ministers.  291 

James  Dana,  .  .  .  Wallingford  ;  New  Haven,  54 
*IIenry  Davis,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Lie.  Tol.   .  .  .  President  Middlebury 

and  Hamilton  Coll., .  .  .  Middletown,  54 
Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Lie.  1800,  .  .  .  President  Yale  Col- 
lege, .  .  .  New  Haven,  living,  60 
•{•Jonathan  Dickinson,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Lie.  Fairfield,  .  .  .  President 

Nassau  Hall,  57 
Moses  Dickinson,  .  .  .  Nor  walk,  59 
Stephen  Dodd,  .  .  .  Naugatuck  ;  East  Haven,  50 
Gordon  Dorrance,  .  .  .  n.  Sterling,  .  .  .  Mass. ;  N.  Y.,  50 
Daniel  Dow,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Thompson,  54 
Timothy  Edwards,  .  .  .  South  Windsor,  ,62 
Nathaniel  Eells,  .  .  .  Stonington,  57 
Jared  Elliott, .  .  .  Clinton,  54 
John  Ellis,  .  .  .  Franklin ;  Rehoboth,  Mass.,  52 
Ezra  Stiles  Ely,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Westchester ;  Philadelphia,  living,  54 
Richard  Ely,  .  .  .  North  Madison  ;  Centerbrook,  56 
JNathanel  Emmons,  D.D.,  .  .  .  n.  East  Haddam,  .  .  .  Lie.  Hart- 
ford South,  .  .  .  Mass.,  71 
Daniel  Farrand,  .  .  .  Canaan,  51 
David  D.  Field,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Haddam ;  Stockbridge,  living,  55 
Joseph  Fish,  .  .  .  North  Stonington,  50 
John  Fisk,  .  .  .  East  Putnam,  58 
James  Fitch,  .  .  .  Saybrook ;  Norwich,  56 
§  Justus  Forward,  .  .  .  n  Suffield  ,  .  .  .  Belchertown,  Mass.  59 
Ebenezer  Frothingham,  .  .  .  Middletown,  51 
Ebenezer  Gay,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Suffield,  53 
Nathaniel  Gaylord,  .  .  .  West  Hartland,  59 
Maltby  Gelston, .  .  .  Sherman,  59 
Alexander  Gillett,  .  .  .  Wolcott ;  Torringford,  53 
Timothy  P.  Gillett,  .  .  .  Branford,  living,  52 
Samuel  Goodrich,  .  .  .  Ridgefield ;  Berlin,  50 
John  Graham,  .  .  .  Stafford  ;  Southbridge,  51 
John  Graham, .  .  .  West  Suffield,  50 
Sylvanus  Haight,  .  .  .  Wilton  ;  South  Norwalk,  living,  60 
||Enoch  Hale, .  .  .  n.  Coventry,  .  .  .  Mass.,  58 
Samuel  Hall,  .  .  .  Cheshire,  52 
"•Walter  Harris,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Columbia, . .  .  Dunbarton,  N.  H.,  54 
f fRoger  Harrison,  .  .  .  n.  Branford ,  .  .  .  Mass.,  55 
Rufus  Hawley,  .  .  ,  Avon,  57 


*Spr.  An.  4,  224.    fSpr.  An.  3, 14.     JSpr.  An.  1,  693.    §Spr.  An.  2, 297.    |Spr.  An. 
2,  572.    **Spr.  An.  2, 277.    Mendon  Assoc.  231.    ttSpr.  An.  2,  531. 


292  Half  Century  Ministers. 

Lemuel  Haynes,  .  .  .  (col'd)  .  .  .  Torrington ;  Vermont,  54 

Jacob  Hemmingway,  .  .  .  East  Haven,  50 

John  Higginson,  .  .  .  Guilford ;  Mass.,  72 

*Abiel  Holmes,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Woodstock  ;  .  .  .  Mass.,  53 
Samuel  Hopkins,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  North  Stamford  ;  Rhode  Island,          53 

Frederic  "Win.  Hotchkiss,  .  .  .  Old  Say  brook,  61 
Heman  Humphrey,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Fail-field,  .  .  .  Pr«s.  Amh.  Col., 

living,  53 
•(•Daniel  Humphreys,  .  .  .  Derby,  55 
Aaron  Hutchinson,  .  .  .  n.  Hebron,  .  .  .  Ms. ;  Vermont,  50 
Elisha  Hutchinson,  .  .  .  West-ford ;  Vermont,  55 
Eli  Hyde,  .  .  .  Salem  ;  New  York ;  Vermont,  50 
JWilliam  Jackson,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Cornwall ;  .  .  .  Vermont,  50 
Evan  Johns, .  .  .  Berlin  ;  New  York,  50 
fiamuel  Johnson,  .  .  .  West  Haven ;  .  .  .  became  an  Episco- 
palian, 52 
Eliphalet  Jones,  . .  .  n.  Fairfield,  .  .  .  Huntington  ;  Long  Island,  55 
Isaac  Jones,  .  .  .  Bethany,  .  .  .  became  an  Episcopalian,  53 
§Jonathan  Judd,  .  .  .  n.  Waterbury ;  .  .  .  Mass.,  60 
Ebenezer  Kellogg,  .  .  .  Vernon,  55 
Aaron  Kinne,  .  .  .  Groton;  Mass.  54 
Daniel  Kirkland,  .  . .  Lisbon  ;  Groton,  50 
Mark  Leavenworth,  .  .  .  Waterbury,  57 
||Joseph  Lathrop,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Norwich,  .  .  .  Mass.,  64 
Andrew  Lee,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Hanover,  in  Lisbon,  64 
Chauncey  Lee,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Colebrook ;  Marlboro,  53 
Amzi  Lewis,  .  .  .  North  Stamford ;  New  York,  49 
Isaac  Lewis,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Wilton  ;  Greenwich,  72 
Isaac  Lewis,  .  .  .  N.  Y.  ;  Greenwich  ;  R.  I.,  56 
Ephraim  Little,  . .  .  Colchester,  55 
Benjamin  Lord,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Norwich  Town,  67 
Eliphalet  Lyman,  .  .  .  Woodstock,  57 
** Joseph  Lyman,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Lebanon,  .  .  .  Massachusetts,  57 
Abel  McEwen,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  New  London, .  .  .  living,  54 
David  McClure,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  South  Windsor,  50 
Allen  McLean,  .  .  .  Simsbury,  living,  51 
Frederick  Marsh,  .  .  .  Winchester  Center,  living,  51 
John  Marsh,  D.  D.,.  .  .  Wethersfield,  56 
Jonathan  Marsh,  .  .  .  New  Hartford,  55 
Moses  Mather,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Darien,  62 


*8pr.  An.  2,  240.    fSpr.  1,  452.     Mendon  Assoc.  96.    JSpr. 
1,335.    JSpr.  An.  1,  528.    Allen.    **Spr.  An.  2,  10 


An.  8,  33<>.    §Spr.  An. 


Half  Century  Ministers.  293 

-Mark  Mead,  .  .  .  Middlebury  ;  Greenwich,  living,  51 

Samuel  Merwin,  .  .  .  New  Haven,  51 

Jonathan  Miller,  .  .  .  Burlington,  49 

Ebenezer  Mills,  .  .  .  East  Granby  ;  Massachusetts,  52 

Jedediah  Mills,  .  .  .  Huntington,  57 

Samuel  J.  Mills,  .  .  .  Torringford,  65 

Thomas  Miner,  .  .  .  Westfield,  (Middletown,)  53 

Samuel  Moseley, .  .  .  Hampton,  57 

Levi  Nelson,  .  .  .  Lisbon,  51 

Abel  Newel,  .  .  .  Goshen,  58 
*Asahel  S.  Norton,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n,  Farmington ;  .  .  .  Clinton,  New 

York,  61 
Eliphalet  Nott,  n.  i>.,  .  .  .  n.  Saybrook, .  .  .  (Lie.  N.  L.) .  .  . 

President  Union  College,  living,  63 

Samuel  Nott,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Franklin,  70 

James  Noyes,  .  .  .  Stonington,  54 

James  Noyes,  .  .  .  Wallingford,  59 

John  Noyes,  .  .  .  Weston,  60 

Matthew  Noyes,.'.  .  Northford,  50 

Moses  Noyes,  .  .  .  Old  Lyme,  63 

David  Palmer,  .  .  .  n.  Scotland,  .  .  .  Townsend ;  Mass.,  50 

John  Palmer,  (Sep.)  .  .  .  Brunswick,  (Scotland,)  ,  58 

Paul  Parks,  (Sep.)  .  .  .  Preston,  50 

Elijah  Parsons,  .  .  .  East  Haddam,  55 
f  William  Patten,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n  Hartford,  .  .  .  Rhode  Island,  53 

Nathan  Perkins,  n.  D.,  .  .  .  West  Hartford,  66 

JJolm  Pierson,  .  .  .  n.  Clinton,  .  .  .  New  Jersey,  57 

Bealeel  Pinneo,  .  .  .Milford,  53 

Timothy  Pitkin, .  .  .  Farmington,  60 

Benjamin  Pomeroy,  D.  D.  ...  Hebron,  50 
§David  Porter,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Hebron ;  .  .  .  Catskill,  New  York,  65 

Noah  Porter,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Farmington,  living,  54 

Thomas  Potwine,  .  .  .  East  Windsor,  49 

Aaron  Putnam,  .  .  .  Pomfret,  57 
||  James  Richards.  D.  D.,  .  .  .n.  New  Canaan,  .  .  .  (Lie.  F.  W.) 

New  York,  Prof.  Aub.  Theol.  Sem.  50 

John  Richards,  .  .  .  North  Guilford ;  Vermont,  63 

Hezekiah  Ripley,  D.  D.,  .  .  .Green's  Farms,  65 

Ammi  R.  Robbins,  .  .  .  Norfolk,  52 

Philemon  Robbins,  .  .  .  Brauford,  50 


*Spr.  An.  2,  832.    fSpr.  Au.  1,  592.  Allen.    JSpr.  An.   3,  16.    §Spr.   An.  3,  496. 
jSpr.  An.  4,  99. 


294  Half  Century  Ministers. 

Thomas  Robbins,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  South  Windsor ;  Mass. ;  Hartford,  49 
*John  Robinson,  .  .  .  n  Lebanon,  .  .  .  Westboro,  Massachusetts,  52 
Ralph  Robinson,  .  .  .  n.  Scotland,  .  .  .  Pulaski ;  New  Haven ; 

New  York,  living,  5 1 

William  Robinson,  .  .  .  Southington,  49 

John  Rodgers,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Danbury ;  Del. ;  New  York,  64 
f William  F.  Rowland,  .  .  .  n.  Plainfield,  .  .  .  Exeter,  New 

Hampshire,  53 
John  Sawyer,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Hebron,  .  .  .  Maine,  72 
Erastus  Scranton,  .  .  .  Orange  ;  Burlington,  living,  55 
Samuel  Shepard,  .  .  .  n.  Portland  ;  .  .  .  Massachusetts,  52 
Ichabod  L.  Skinner,  .  .  .  North  Coventry,  became  a  lawyer,  58 
John  Smalley,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  New  Britain,  62 
Cotton  Mather  Smith,  .  .  .  Sharon,  51 
Daniel  Smith,  .  .  .  Stamford,  53 
David  Smith,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Durham,  living,  60 
Zephaniah  H.  Smith,  .  .  .  Newtown,  became  a  lawyer,  50 
John  Southmayd,  .  .  .  Waterbury,  55 
James  Sprout,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Guilford  4th ;  Philadelphia,  50 
Peter  Starr,  .  .  .  Warren,  57 
Stephen  W.  Stebbins,  .  .  .  Stratford ;  West  Haven,  57 
JJohn  H.  Stevens,  .  .  .  n.  Canterbury,  .  .  .  Mass.,  6  0 
Anthony  Stoddard,  .  .  .  Woodbury,  58 
Timothy  Stone,  .  .  .  Cornwall,  50 
Richard  S.  Storrs,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  West  Haven,  .  .  .  Massachu- 
setts, living,  50 
Samuel  Stow,  .  .  .  Middletown,  51 
Nicholas  Street,  .  .  .  Massachusetts;  North  Haven,  51 
Nicholas  Street, .  .  .  East  Haven,  51 
Joseph  Strong,  .  .  .  Granby  ;  Massachusetts,  51 
Joseph  Strong,  D.  D.,  ...  Norwich  Town,  56 
Nathan  Strong, .  .  .  North  Coventry,  5o 
Joseph  Sumner, .  .  .  n.  Pomfret,  .  .  .  Shrewsbury,  Mass.  62 
Zephaniah  Swift,  .  .  .  Roxbury ;  Derby,  53 
Nathaniel  Taylor,  .  .  .  New  Milford,  52 
Jonathan  Todd,  .  .  .  Madison,  58 
Samuel  Todd,  .  .  .  Plymouth  ;  Massachusetts,  50 
Salmon  Treat,  .  .  .  Preston,  64 
Benjamin  Trumbull,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  North  Haven,  60 
Bennet  Tyler,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  South  Britain  ;  Portland,  Me.;  Presi- 
dent East  Windsor  Seminaiy,  50 

*8pr.  An.  1,  697.    tSpr.  An.  1,  722.    JSpr.  An.  1.  598. 


Half  Century  Ministers.  295 

Alvan  Underwood,  .  .  .  West  Woodstock,  57 

Joseph  Vaill,  .  .  .  Hadlyme,  58 

Daniel  Waldo,  .  .  .  West  Suffield ;  New  York,  living,  68 

Simon  Waterman,  .  .  .  Wallingford,  2d,  52 

*Ezra  Weld,  .  .  .  n.  Pomfret ;  .  .  .  Massachusetts,  50 

Ludovicus  Weld,  .  .  .  Hampton,  54 

fStephen  West,  D.  D., .  .  .  n.  Tolland ;  .  -.  .  Stockbridge,  Mass.  60 

Nathaniel  Whitaker,  .  .  .  Norwich,  2d,  60 

Stephen  White,  .  .  .  Windham,  53 

Josiah  Whitney,  D.  D Brooklyn,  57 

Jabez  Wight,  .  .  .  Norwich,  (Preston,  Long  Society,)  56 

John  Willard,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Stafford,  50 

Eliphalet  Williams,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  East  Hartford,  55 

Joshua  Williams,  .  .  .  Harwinton,  51 

Nathan  Williams,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Tolland,  69 

Solomon  Williams,  .  .  .  Lebanon,  54 

Stephen  Williams,  .  .  .  West  Woodstock,  49 
JThomas  Williams,  .  .  .  n.  Pomfret, .  .  .  Lie.  M.,  .  .  .  Eastbury, 

Rhode  Island,  living,  57 

Noah  Williston,  .  .  .  West  Haven,  51 
§Seth  Williston,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Suffield,  .  .  .  Lie.  T.,  .  .  .  ord.,  H. 

N. ;  .  .  .  N.  Y.,  .  57 

Samuel  Wood,  n.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Mansfield,  .  .  .  New  Hampshire,  57 

John  Woodbridge,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Bridgeport ;  Hadley,  Ms.,  living,  50 

*Spr.  An.  1,  354.  fSpr.  An.  1,  548.  Allen.    {Mention  Assoc.  170.     §Spr.  An.  4,  140. 
In  this  paper  "  n  "  signifies  native  of. 


EARLY  THEOLOGICAL  EDUCATION.* 

Before  theological  seminaries  were  established  in  this  state, 
the  professors  of  divinity  in  Yale  College  were  in  the  habit  of 
assisting  in  their  studies  such  young  men  as  were  disposed  to 
put  themselves  under  their  direction.  But  they  were  not 
the  only  instructors  of  candidates  for  the  ministry.  The 
custom  was,  to  a  great  extent,  for  young  men  to  fit  for 
college  with  their  pastors,  and  after  graduation,  to  pursue 
their  theological  studies  also  under  the  same  direction.  In  the 
case  of  those  who  .were  somewhat  advanced  in  years,  the 
pastors  frequently  gave  instruction  in  academic  studies,  as  a 
substitute  for  a  public  education,  and  our  Associations  granted 
licenses  to  the  candidates  who  took  this  short  course,  when 
their  hearts  were  set  on  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  their 
other  qualifications  were  peculiarly  marked  and  complete. 

There  were  several  pastors,  not  only  in  this  but  also  in  other 
states,  who  became  noted  as  theological  teachers.  Besides 
their  natural  qualifications  for  the  work,  the  habit  of  instruction 
gave  them  facility  arid  skill  in  their  duties  ;  and  soon  other 
pastors  were,  to  a  great  extent,  forsaken,  and  these  came  to 
have  well  known  "  schools  of  the  prophets."  These  teachers 
were  mostly  of  the  New  England  or  Edwardean  stamp.  They 
gave  shape  to  the  theology  of  the  succeeding  generations  of 
ministers.  There  was  an  advantage  in  this  method  of  instruc- 
tion, that  the  teacher  learned  all  the  peculiarities  of  his  pupils ; 
and  if  any  of  them  were  warped  in  their  views,  a  thorough 
sifting  and  drilling  was  sure  to  set  them  right,  which  is  not 
always  accomplished  under  the  present  method.  The  oppor- 
tunities for  becoming  practically  acquainted  with  pastoral  duties 
was  also  peculiarly  favorable  under  the  eye  of  such  teachers. 

*  In  printing  these  "  Historical  Papers,"  of  which  this  is  the  last,  it  has  not  been 
practicable  to  carry  out  any  regular  system  of  arrangement.  This  paper  upon  "  Early 
Theological  Education,"  should  have  had  a  place  before  that  upon  "  The  Theological 
Department  of  Yale  College."—  Com.  of  Pub. 


Early  Theological  Education.  297 

The  term  of  study  was  usually  short;  systematic  theology, 
with  some  practice  in  sermonizing;  being  the  principal  subjects 
attended  to.  It  is  to  be  feared  that,  according  to  the  present 
system,  while  great  advantage  is  now  gained  in  auxiliary 
branches,  it  is  often  with  the  sacrifice  of  these  essential  things. 
Soon  after  the  great  awakening  of  1740,  Dr.  Bellamy  of 
Bethlem,  whose  pastorate  was  from  1737  to  1790,  began  to 
receive  theological  students,  and  was  a  pioneer  in  this  depart- 
ment, and  highly  distinguished.  Dr.  Smalley,  of  New  Britain, 
1757  to  1820,  Dr.  Charles  Backus,  of  Somers,  1773  to  1803. 
Dr.  Levi  Hart,  of  Griswold,  1761  to  1808,  and  Rev.  Asahel 
Hooker  in  Goshen  and  Norwich,  1790  to  1813,  were  noted  and 
much  resorted  to  by  theological  students.  Rev.  Jedediah  Mills 
of  Huntington,  1724  to  1776,  was  the  instructor  of  David 
Brainerd  and  some  others ;  Dr.  Wheelock  of  Columbia,  1 735 
to  1770,  was  an  instructor  of  youth,  a  trainer  of  missionaries, 
and  a  teacher  in  theology ;  Rev.  William  Robinson  of  South- 
ington,  1776  to  1825,  received  students ;  several  others  also, 
whom  our  imperfect  knowledge  does  not  enable  us  to  enumer- 
ate. Dr.  Stephen  West  of  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  1756  to  1819, 
Dr.  Samuel  Hopkins,  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  1742  to  1803,  and  Dr. 
Nathaniel  Emmons  of  Franklin,  Mass.,  1769  to  1840,  all  natives 
of  Connecticut,  were  also  distingushed  teachers  of  theological 
students,  and  did  much  to  mold  the  theology  of  New  England. 


39 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

OF    THE 

DISTRICT    ASSOCIATIONS. 

FAIRFIELD  EAST  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Association  of  Fairfield  County,  in  a  meeting  at  Stamford,  Aug.  ;27th, 
1734,  resolved  itself  into  two  Associations  "  by  a  line  running  on  the  east 
side  of  Fairfield  and  Greenfield,  and  on  the  west  side  of  Redding  and  Dan- 
bury." 

1735,  Nov.  llth. — The  associated  elders  resolved  to  move  their  several 
churches  to  form  a  Consoaiation.  The  Consociation  of  Fairfield  county  met 
at  Fairfield  June  8th,  1736  and  resolved  itself  into  two  Consociations, 
and  fixed  upon  the  same  dividing  line. 

1738,  the  Association  voted  that  no  person  having  a  call  to  settle  over 
any  church  in  the  Consociation  should  accept  the  same  until  he  had  been 
examined  and  approved  by  the  Association. 

1739-40,  Jan.  22d. — Joseph  Bellamy  was  recommended  as  a  candidate  for 
settlement  at  Bethlem. 

1740. — It  was  decided  that  a  man  cannot  scripturally  marry  his  deceased 
wife's  sister,  and  the  reasons  were  put  on  record. 

Circular  fasts  were  agreed  upon.  These  fasts  were  observed  for  twelve 
years  in  succession,  though  with  some  changes  in  the  order  of  procedure. 
The  usual  course  was  to  begin  them  in  the  fall,  soon  after  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  Consociation,  and  hold  them  once  a  fortnight  with  each  church 
until  all  the  churches  had  been  visited.  They  seem  to  have  been  greatly 
blessed  at  first,  and  in  connection  with  the  general  awakening  in  and  about 
1740.  They  were  afterwards  appointed  on  account  of  the  declension  which 
followed  that  work  of  grace. 

1740,  October. — The  Consociation  resolved  to  endeavor  to  secure  the  labors 
of  Rev.  George  Whiten  eld  for  this  disirict. 

1741,  October. — The  Consociation  refer  to  the  revival  and  to  the  circular 
fasts  as  productive  of  a  glorious  revival  of  religion. 

1742,  July  29th. — The  Association  licensed  David  Brainerd,  and  placed 
on  record  a  vindication  of  themselves  in  so  doing,  while  he  was  under  the 
censure  of  Yale  College. 

At  the  same  meeting  they  gave  important  advice  in  respect  to  lay  meet- 
ings,— sanctioning  them  and  showing  how  they  should  be  conducted. 

1763,  May  29th. — The  Association  met  at  Bethel  and  heard  complaints  of 
false  doctrine — Sandemanianism — aginst  Rev.  Noah  Wetmore,  of  Bethel, 


Fairfield  East   Association. 

Rev.  Ebenezer  "White,  of  Danbury,  and  Rev.  James  Taylor,  of  New  Fairfield 
South — now  New  Fairfield.  Mr.  Wetmore  was  cleared,  but  Mr.  White 
and  Mr.  Taylor  were  held  to  trial  before  the  Consociation  and  silenced. 

In  1768  the  Association  sent  a  delegate  to  a  General  Convention  at  Eliz- 
abethtown,  which  seems  to  have  met  yearly  alternately  in  New  Jersey,  and  in 
the  western  part  of  this  State,  as  at  Norwalk,  Stamford  and  Greenfield,  till 
broken  up  by  the  war. 

In  1774  the  Association  memorialized  the  General  Association  with  refer- 
ence to  devising  some  plan  to  provide  the  preached  Gospel  for  the  inhabit- 
ants who  were  scattered  in  the  wilderness  in  various  provinces. 

In  1778  it  was  voted  to  continue  public  lectures  and  special  services  on 
account  of  the  war.  And  because  of  the  low  state  of  schools,  and  the  in- 
competency,  immorality  and  Toryism  of  some  of  the  teachers,  the  Associa- 
tion resolved  to  apply  to  the  General  Association  for  some  action  suited  to  re- 
vive learning  and  religion. 

1783,  Oct.  28th. — The  members  resolve  to  preach  to  the  racant  churches 
and  stir  them  up  to  the  work  of  getting  pastors. 

1805,  May  28th. — The  Association  of  Fairfield  West  having  inquired  of 
this  Association  if  it  would  not  be  best  to  admit  lay  delegates  to  the  meet- 
ings of  the  District  Associations  as  witnesses  of  their  proceedings,  and  to 
show  that  they  were  not  engaged  in  political  intrigues,  this  Association  re- 
plied in  the  negative,  and  gave  their  reasons. 

1812,  Oct.  7th. — The  Association  accepted  and  approved  the  recommend- 
ation of  the  General  Association  not  to  introduce  ardent  spirits  at  meetings 
of  this  Association. 

1814,  May  31st. — Measures  were  taken  to  form  an  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. 

1821. — Sabbath  schools  reported  as  generally  established. 

1821. — A  Foreign  Mission  Society  was  formed,  auxiliary  to  the  American 
Board. 

The  years  of  general  revivals  in  these  churches  were  1740-41,  1821,  1831, 
1843  and  1858.  That  of  1831  was  probably  the  most  fruitful  one  which 
these  churches  have  ever  experienced. 

The  spirit  of  this  body  commends  it  to  all  who  go  through  with,  its  well- 
kept  records.  It  has  been  zealous  for  purity  of  doctrine  and  the  wholesome 
administration  of  discipline.  Its  measures  have,  as  a  general  thing,  been 
marked  by  sound  wisdom.  It  has  had  the  confidence  of  the  churches,  has 
been  largely  consulted  by  them  in  cases  of  difficulty,  and  has  sympathized 
with  them  and  aided  them  in  their  trials.  It  has  been  in  favor  of  revivals 
and  of  an  active  piety  from  its  organization  until  now.  The  associated  pas- 
tors, with  the  exception  of  the  White  controversy,  [Sandemanianisrn]  have 
dwelt  together  in  harmony  and  good  fellowship,  assisting  each  other  in  sick- 
ness or  distress,  advising  each  other  in  perplexity,  and  strengthening  each 
other  for  the  responsibilities  of  the  gospel  ministry. 

LICENCIATES. 

NAMES.  WHEN   LICENSED.  NAMES.  WHEN   LICENSED. 

Ebenezer  Dibble,  Mar,  4, 1734    Ebenezer  Mills,  May  2,  1739 

Robert  Silliinan,  May  2,  1739    David  Judson,  Oct.   7,  1740 


300 


Fairfield   East  Association. 


Samuel  Buel, 
John  Graham,  Jr., 
Jacob  Johnson, 
Samuel  Hopkins, 
Jonathan  Judd, 
Reuben  Judd, 
David  Brainerd, 
Nathan  Strong. 
David  S.  Rowland, 
Nathaniel  Taylor, 
Daniel  Brinsmade, 
Ephraim  Judson, 
Chauncey  Graham, 
Jonathan  Elmer, 
Gideon  Hawley, 
Deliverance  Smith, 
Hezekiah  Gold, 
William  Ramsey, 
Abraham  Ketteltas, 
Joseph  Peck, 
Elnathan  Gregory, 
Noah  Benedict, 
Hugh  Williamson, 
Eden  Burroughs, 
Caleb  Barnum, 
Ebenezer  Kellogg, 
Benjamin  Dunning, 
John  Chandler, 
Joseph  MOBB  White, 
Benjamin  Wildman, 
James  Johnson, 
Noadiah  Warner, 


Oct.    7,  1741    George  Gilmore, 

May  27,  1765 

Nov.  12,  1741    Ichabod  Lewis,  Jr., 

Oct.  29,  1766 

Apr.  29,  1742    Isaac  Lewis, 

Feb.  24,  1768 

Apr.  39,  1742    Blackleach  Burritt, 

Feb.  24,  1768 

Apr.  29,  1742    Samuel  Mills, 

May  31,  1768 

July  29,  1742    Peter  Starr, 

June   6,  1769 

July  29,1742    William  Plum, 

May  27,1772 

Nov.  10,  1742    Abraham  Camp, 

Feb.  15,  1775 

Aug.  12,1746    Joshua  Perry, 

Oct.  30,1776 

Oct.     7,1744    Ard  Hoyt, 

Oct.  .  8,  1805 

Oct.     7,  1747    Nathaniel  Kenneday, 

Oct.  14,  1807 

Dec.    1,  1747    Hezekiah  G.  Ufford, 

Oct.  15,  1807 

Jan  14,  1747    John  Clark, 

May  29,  1810 

May  4,  1743    Thomas  F.  Davies, 

May  29,  1816 

May  23,  1750    Charles  F.  Butler, 

May  28,  1817 

May  29,  1751    Charles  A.  Boardmau, 

Oct.     8,  1817 

May  16,  1753    Peter  Lockwood, 

Oct.     7,  1819 

Nov.  25,  1755    Laurens  P.  Hickok, 

May  28,  1822 

Aug.  23,  1756    Ebenezer  Platt, 

May  28,  1822 

May  29,  1758    Alanson  Benedict, 

Apr.  24,  1824 

May  29,  1758    John  Smith, 

Apr.  24,  1824 

Oct.  14,  1758    Orrin  Hyde, 

Apr.  24,  1824 

Mar.  20,  1759    Thomas  T.  Waterman, 

June  1,  1825 

May  30  ,1759    Epenetus  Platt  Benedict, 

June  1,  1825 

May  30,  1759    George  Carringtou, 

1825 

May  28,  1760    Ransom  Hawley, 

May  28,  1828 

May  28,  1760    Platt  Tyler  Holley, 

June   1,  1831 

Apr.  16,  1761    WUliam  F.  Dibble, 

Oct.    13,  1841 

Oct.    28,  1761    Nathaniel  Augustus  Hewit, 

Oct.  12,  1842 

Oct.  28,  1761    Samuel  T.  Seelye, 

Oct.  15,1845 

May  26,  1762    Charles  S.  Shelton, 

Mar.    28,1848 

Oct.  31,  1764 

FAIRFIELD  WEST  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Saybrook  platform  was  adopted  by  the  ministers  and  churches  of 
Fairfield  County,  March  17th,  1709,  at  which  time  the  County  Association 
was  probably  first  organized. 

Fairfield  County  Association  was  divided  into  two  bodies  in  1734. 

The  records  of  this  Association  were  burned  in  the  house  of  Rev.  Andrew 
Eliot,  of  Fairfield,  July  8th,  1779,  when  the  British,  commanded  by  Gen. 
Tryon,  entered  and  destroyed  that  town.  From  that  date  to  the  present  the 
records  are  complete. 

1787,  May  29th. — "  A  method  for  celebrating  public  worship  "  was  recom- 
mended.    This  is  substantially  the  same  with  that  now  used. 

1788,  May  27th. — Mr.  Ripley  and  Dr.  Dwight  "present a  plan  for  promo- 
ting a  general  union  among  the  Presbyterians  throughout  the  United  States," 
which  it  was  ordered  should  be  presented  to  General  Association  at  their 
next  annual  meeting. 

1788,  Oct.  14th. — Six  Sabbaths  of  supply  were  voted  to  the  destitute  con- 
gregations in  Vermont,  as  recommended  by  General  Association. 

1789,  May  26th. — The  Association  instructed  its  delegates  to  General  As- 
sociation to  "move  that  a  minister  be  appointed  by  said  Association  yearly 
to  preach  in  the  first  church  in  Hartford,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  general 
election  day,  a  sermon  in  support  of  the  divine  authority  of  the  holy  scrip- 
tures ;"  also,  in  1791,  that  "a  preacher  be  appointed  in  the  same  way  for  the 
same  object  at  New  Haven,  the  day  before  commencement." 

1790,  May  25th. — The  delegates  to  General  Association  were  directed  to 
move  that  the  plan  of  union  between  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists 
in  this  country,  proposed  by  this  Association  in  1788,  be  again  considered- 

1794,  May  27th. — The  Association  voted  in  favor  of  the  formation  of  a 
General  Consociation. 

1795,  May  26th — It  was  voted  to  comply  with  the  recommendation  of 
General  Association  to  report  annually  the  state  of  religion  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  Association. 

The  "  concert  in  prayers,  proposed  by  several  ministers  of  different  de- 
nominations in  the  United  States,"  was  highly  approved.  It  was  thought, 

however,  to  be  inconvenient  for  the  churches  to  meet  oftener  than  once  in 

i 

each  quarter  of  the  year,  and  that  then  "it  will  be  expedient  for  each  mint 
ister  to  deliver  at  every  such  meeting  a  sermon  respecting  the  future  ad 
vancement  of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  that  it  will  also  be  proper  and  desirable 
to  make  the  prosperity  of  the  civil  government  in  these  states  a  stated  ob 
ject  of  public  prayer  in  the  proposed  meetings." 

1797,  May  30th. — It  was  proposed  to  General  Association  that  a  society 
be  formed  in  this  state  "for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom and  propagating  the  gospel  among  the  heathen." 

1799. — The  Association  voted  that,  in  their  opinion,  the  imposition  of  hands 
in  the  ordination  of  deacons  is  expedient,  but  not  indispensably  necessary. 


302  Fairfield    West   Association. 

The  churches  are  directed  to  "  collect  a  stock  by  free  contributions  for 
benevolent  purposes,  and  particularly  for  the  assistance  of  their  indigent 
members." 

The  means  adopted  by  "  the  Missionary  Society  of  Connnecticut "  are 
heartily  approved. 

1804,  May  29th; — The  Association  decided  "  that  the  ministers  should 
take  a  tour  of  preaching  within  the  bounds  of  the  district,"  "  and  that  they 
go  forth  two  and  two."  Four  days  were  to  be  spent  in  this  tour,  and  two 
rotations  of  this  service  to  be  performed  during  the  year. 

1808. — The  report  of  the  state  of  religion  is  such  that  the  Association 
think  "  the  friends  of  Zron  have  reason  to  thank  God  and  take  courage." 

1812. — It  was  "  voted  to  recommend  the  formation  of  a  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society  in  this  district."  A  society  was  accordingly  formed  which  is 
now  auxiliary  to  "  The  American  Board." 

Voted,  also,  "  wholly  to  discontinue  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  at  all  future 
meetings  of  this  body,  except  in  cases  of  real  necessity."  Messrs.  Roswell 
R.  Swan,  of  Norwalk,  Heman  Humphrey,  of  Fairfield,  and  "NYm.  Bonney,  of 
Canaan,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  and  lay  before  the  Consoci- 
ation "  an  address  respecting  the  use  of  arden£  spirits."  This  was  the  first 
decided  movement  on  the  subject  of  temperance  made  by  any  ecclesiastical 
body,  and  the  address  prepared  by  Messrs.  Swan  and  Humphrey  was  one  of 
unusual  power. 

1813. — Voted,  that  once  a  quarter  the  ministers  and  churches  of  three  or 
more  neighboring  societies  meet  in  rotation  at  their  respective  places  of 
worship  to  unite  in  the  monthly  concert. 

1814. — It  was  recommended  that  the  ministers  and  churches  hold  meet- 
ings for  extraordinary  prayer.  This  is  supposed  to  refer  to  the  state  of  the 
country,  then  engaged  in  war  with  Great  Britain. 

In  compliance  with  the  recommendation  of  General  Association,  it  was 
voted  to  use  all  practicable  means  for  the  formation  of  female  charitable  so- 
cieties for  the  education  of  indigent  and  pious  youth  for  the  gospel  ministry. 

1817. — In  view  of  furnishing  a  supply  of  future  laborers  in  the  vineyard 
of  Christ,  the  Association  resolved  to  pay  special  attention  to  the  subject  of 
providing  means  for  the  education  of  pious  youth. 

1819. — The  members  of  the  Association  \vere  desired  to  read  publicly  in 
all  their  churches  the  tract  entitled  "The  Claims  of  Six  Hundred  Millions, 
or  the  Conversion  of  the  World,"  and  to  make  a  new  effort  to  increase  the 
charitable  contributions  for  the  support  of  foreign  missions. 

1820. — It  was  recommended  that  extraordinary  exertions  on  the  subject  of 
foreign  missions  should  be  continued.  Notice  was  taken  of  the  "  alarming 
degree"  to  which  "the  intemperate  use  of  ardent  spirits  prevailed." 

1822. — The  Association  cordially  approved  of  the  efforts  then  being  made 
to  extend  the  theological  department  of  Yale  College,  inasmuch  as  it  was  an 
important  part  of  the  design  of  the  founders  of  that  institution  that  it 
should  be  a  school  for  the  church. 

1827. — Sabbath  schools  were  found  to  be  very  generally  established,  and 
many  of  them  very  flourishing. 


Fairfteld  West  Association. 


303 


1828,  May  27th. — A  general  interest  in  all  the  churches  on  the  subject  of 
religion  prevailed.  The  delegates  to  General  Association  were  directed  to 
use  their  influence  to  have  means  taken  to  have  the  Missionary  Society  of 
Connecticut  become  auxiliary  to  "The  American  Home  Missionary  Society." 

1829. — The  Association  noticed  that  the  cause  of  temperance  was  gaining 
ground,  and  that  the  number  of  those  who  espoused  the  doctrine  of  entire 
abstinence  had  considerably  increased.  The  efforts  of  "  The  Connecticut 
Sabbath  School  Union  "  were  highly  approved. 

1830. — The  cause  of  temperance  is  observed  to  be  rapidly  advancing. 
The  monthly  concert  of  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  is  generally 
observed,  and  Bible  classes  and  Sabbath  schools  exist  generally  and  are  in  a 
flourishing  condition. 

1831. — The  Association  took  notice  of  "the  signal  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit "  in  many  of  the  churches. 

1832. — Revivals  are  reported  as  in  nearly  all  the  churches  to  an  extent 
never  before  experienced. 

1835. — Auxiliary  Home  Missionary  Society  formed. 

1836. — Certain  measures  were  recommended  to  Association  to  be  used 
for  the  revival  of  religion  within  its  bounds. 

1839. — Certain  doctrinal  errors  alleged  by  the  Pastoral  Union's  Protest 
are  not  held  in  this  body. 

1849. — It  is  believed  that  doctrinal  e^ors  concerning  the  Trinity,  the  In- 
carnation and  the  Atonement  are  extensively  propagated  in  the  state,  and 
its  delegates  are  to  request  action  of  General  Association  in  the  matter. 

LICENCIATES. 


NAMES. 

John  Noyes, 
James  Noyes, 
William  Brintnal  Eipley, 
Samuel  Sturges, 
James  Richards, 
Jonathan  Law  Pomeroy, 
Jonathan  Bartlett, 
David  Hill, 
Ziu'liary  Lewis, 
Isaac  Lewis,  Jr., 
Andrew  Eliot,  Jr., 
Daniel  C.  Banks, 
Daniel  Banks, 
Isaac  Reed, 
Orriu  Fowler. 
Nathan  Burton, 
Richard  V.  Dey, 
Benaiah  Y.  Morse, 
Henry  Benedict. 


WHEN   LICENSED. 

Oct.  14,  1783 
Oct.  12,1784 
May  26,  1789 
May  26,  1789 
May  26,  1793 
Oct.  8,  1793 
Oct.  8,  1793 
Oct.  8, 1793 
Oct.  12.  1796 
Oct.  12,  1796 
Oct.  12,  1796 
Oct.  8, 1805 
Oct.  9,  1810 
May  28, 1816 
Oct.  28,1816 
Dec.  26, 1820 
An*.  27, 1822 
May  25,  1824 
'  May  31, 1825 


NAMES. 

Dennis  Platt, 
Henry  Dean, 
Charles  G.  Selleck, 
Frederick  H.  Ayres, 
Wm.  B.  Sherwood, 
Samuel  B.  S.  Bissell, 
Alexander  H.  Bishop, 
Gilbert  L.  Smith, 
Benjamin  L.  Swan, 
Hiram  Doane, 
Aaron  M.  Colton, 
Daniel  March, 
Abel  B.  Bnrke, 
Samuel  G.  Coe, 
BronsoH  C.  Beardsley, 
David  M.  Elwood, 
Talmon  C.  Perry, 
Benjamin  Parsons, 
Edwin  Hall,  Jr., 


WHEN  LICENSED. 

Oct.  10,  1826 
Oct.  10, 1826 
Mar.  2,  1830 
Oct.  12, 1831 
June  24,  1834 
Oct.  15,1834 
May  26,  1835 
May  26, 1835 
Oct.  14,  1835 
Mar.  22, 1836 
May  30,  1838 
May  31, 1842 
May  81, 1842 
Sep.  20,  1842 
Oct.  11, 1848 
May  29, 1849 
Oct.  9. 1850 
May  31,  1853 
May  81, 1851 


HARTFORD  CENTRAL   ASSOCIATION. 


BY    REV.    NOAH    PORTER,    D.    D. 


Hartford  Central  Association  was  constituted  October  10,  1843.  At  that 
time  the  old  Hartford  North  Association  had  become  inconveniently  large 
in  the  number  of  its  members,  as  it  had  before  been  in  territory,  and  a 
division  was  agreed  on  by  a  line  across  the  county  from  east  to  west,  ma- 
king the  two  parts,  as  nearly  as  could  be,  equal.  In  A.  D.,  1852,  Hart- 
ford Fourth  Association  was  formed  by  members  seceding  from  this  Associa- 
tion, on  account  of  a  difference  of  sentiment,  growing  out  of  certain  publica- 
tions of  Dr.  Bushnell,  and  uniting  themselves  with  others  from  Hartford 
North  and  Hartford  South  Associations.  This  has  made  it  difficult  to  de- 
scribe the  present  local  boundaries  of  this  Association. 

Its  annual  meeting  is  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  June,  when  its  officers  for 
the  year  are  chosen,  except  the  register,  whose  office  is  permanent.  It  also 
meets  on  the  first  Tuesdays  of  September,  December,  and  March  for  critical 
reading  of  the  Greek  Scriptures,  discussion  of  subjects,  and  reading  of 
dissertations,  sermons,  and  plans  of  sermons,  previously  assigned,  and  for 
prayer.  The  meetings  are  ordinarily  opened  at  10. o'clock,  A.  M.,  and  closed 
before  sun-set.  They  are  uniformly  fraternal  and  highly  usefdl.  The 
churches  whose  pastors  originally  constituted  this  Association,  except 
Hartford  Fourth  and  the  churches  of  Collinsville  and  Unionville,  had  be- 
longed to  Hartford  North  Consociation.  In  September,  1854,  they  obtained 
leave  of  the  Consociation  to  form  themselves  into  a  distinct  body,  by  the 
name  of  Hartford  Central  Consociation.  But  at  a  convention  of  the  pastors 
and  delegates  of  these  churches,  called  for  the  purpose  of  forming  either  a 
consociation  or  a  conference,  as  might  be  agreed  on,  it  appeared  that  a 
majority  of  the  churches  preferred  the  latter.  A  conference  was  accordingly 
formed,  incuding  all  the  churches  within  the  bounds  of  Hartford  Central 
Association,  except  one  or  two,  which  afterwards  joined  it.  The  Conference 
meets  statedly  twice  a  year,  and  at  other  times  on  invitation  of  the  churches 
and  at  the  call  of  the  moderator.  Its  exercises  are  not  ecclesiastical,  but 
consist  of  prayer,  preaching,  and  conference  on  subjects  pertaining  to  the 
spiritual  state,  and  improvement  of  the  churches.  They  have  been  found 
highly  useful. 

The  writer  will  take  occasion  to  say  that  he  has  been  a  member  of 
HARTFORD  CONSOCIATION  more  than  fifty  years,  and  its  doings,  so  far 
as  he  has  observed,  have  been  salutary  only.  It  has  deposed  one 
bad  minister,  who  disowned  its  jurisdiction  and  refused  submission  of 
his  case,  on  complaint  of  a  deacon  of  his  church,  to  the  judgment  of 
Consociation.  It  has  dismissed  another  minister  from  his  pastoral  relation 


Hartford  Central  Association.  305 

to  the  church,  although  both  he  and  a  majority  of  the  church  refused  to  sub- 
mit the  case,  either  to  the  Consociation  or  a  select  council,  on  complaint  of 
a  minority  of  aggrieved  members.  In  another  case,  on  application  of  a 
minority  in  a  church,  it  has  formed  them  into  a  distinct  church  against  the 
will  and  without  the  consent  of  the  majority  and  the  pastor.  On  application 
of  two  members  of  another  church,  it  has  thrown  out  a  complaint  on  which 
they  were  convicted  by  the  church  and  restored  them  to  good  standing 
without  confession,  the  case  having  been  mutually  submitted.  I  have  men- 
tioned only  some  of  the  extreme  cases  which  have  come  before  us  within 
these  fifty  years.  In  all  these  cases  the  judgment  of  Consociation  has 
terminated  the  quarrels,  and  the  result  in  all,  except  one,  which  is  too 
recent  for  the  full  and  final  effect  to  be  seen,  has  been  peace.  And  I  know 
not  how  the  same  happy  effect  could  have  been  secured  in  any  other  way. 
Of  course  I  believe  that  Consociation  ought  to  have  the  power  of  judi- 
cial and  final  determination — although,  where  mutual  submission  can  be 
gained,  it  should  be  advisory  only.  Nor  does  it  seem  to  me  contrary  to 
the  principles  of  Congregationalism,  for  a  church,  having  in  itself  the 
power  of  self-government,  to  constitute  the  Consociation  a  standing  council 
for  ultimate  decision  in  those  extreme  cases  which  require  it.  Churches  are 
liable  to  be  rent  into  parties — to  be  biased  in  their  judgment — to  pass 
censures  wrongfully — and  their  is  need  of  some  standing  body  to  which  the 
injured  may  appeal,  with  consent  of  the  churches  where  it  can  be  had,  and 
without  it  when  it  is  refused.  Ministers  too,  sad  experience  shows,  may 
come  under  charge  of  heresy  or  scandal,  on  which  their  churches  cannot 
arraign  them  for  trial,  and  which  they  will  not  consent  to  refer  to  select 
councils.  And  what  can  be  done  in  such  a  case  without  Consociation  ?  An 
ex  parte  council,  indeed,  may  be  called,  but  how  inadequate  this  is  to  meet 
the  exigencies  of  the  case,  especially  if  it  be  a  doubtful  one,  and  strong 
parties  are  enlisted,  is  manifest.  You  see,  then,  that  I  am  strongly  in  favor  of 
Consociation,  and  I  believe  that  the  excellent  Dr.  Bacon  himself,  had  he 
lived  in  Thomas  Hooker's  time,  would  have  been  so  also. 

LICENTIATES. 

Henry  M.  Goodwin,  S.  Dwight  Pitkin, 

George  Bushnell,  Stephen  H.  Bumond, 

Isaac  M.  Ely,  William  U.  Colt, 

Josiah  T.  King,  Pearl  S.  Cossit, 

Charles  K.  Mcllarg,  Joseph  M.  Smith. 
George  W.  Colman, 


40 


HARTFORD  FOURTH  ASSOCIATION. 

This  Association  was  formed  October,  18,  1852.  Until  this  time  the 
principle  of  the  formation  of  Associations  in  the  state  had  been  with  local 
and  territorial  bounds. — New  Haven  Central  also  departing  from  that  rule, 
in  May,  1853,  both  were  received  to  the  General  Association  at  their  next 
annual  meeting. 

This  Association  meets  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  every  month,  at  10  o'clock, 
and  adjourns  about  4  P.  M.  The  ordinary  exercises  are  of  a  social,  literary 
and  religious  nature,  designed  for  the  mutual  improvement  of  all  the  mem- 
bers. These  meetings  have,  from  the  first,  proved  exceedingly  pleasant, 
harmonious  and  profitable.  The  compact  of  the  Hartford  South  Association 
of  1811,  of  individual  amenability  to  the  body,  is  assented  to  by  each 
member. 

LICENTIATES. 

Henry  Pratt,  Samuel  B.  Forbes, 

Edwin  Goodell,  Frederick  Alvord, 

Henry  M.  Adams,  Thomas  S.  Potwin, 

Edward  W.  Bentley,  Lemuel  S.  Potwin, 

Henry  M.  Parsons,  Elijah  Bobbins, 

Henry  Kies,  Ezra  Haskell, 

Edward  H.  Pratt,  Edward  M.  Pease, 

Erekine  J.  Hawes,  William  A.  Hallock, 

Charles  B.  Ball,  George  A.  Miller. 
George  H.  White, 


HARTFORD  NORTH  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Hartford  North  Association  was  organized  at  Hartford,  March  9th, 
1709,  according  to  an  agreement  entered  into  by  the  assembled  ministers  of 
the  county,  at  the  same  place,  February  2d,  1709.  This  agreement  provided 
that  all  the  ministers  of  the  county  should  form  two  Associations,  the  first 
consisting  of  the  ministers  of  Hartford,  Windsor,  Farmington  and  Simsbury, 
and  the  second,  (Hartford  South  Association)  consisting  of  the  ministers  of 
Wethersfield,  Middletown,  Iladdam,  Waterbury,  "Windham,  Glastenbury  and 
Colchester. 

The  original  members  of  the  Association  were 

Timothy  Woodbridge,  minister  of  the  First  Church,  Hartford, 

Thomas  Buckingham.  "  Second     "  "  [Windsor,) 

Timothy  Edwards,  "  East  Windsor,  (now  1st   Ch.,  South 

Dudley  Woodbridge,  Symsbury, 

Samuel  Whitman,  "  Farmington, 

Samuel  Woodbridge,  "  East  Hartford. 

Jonathan  Marsh,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Windsor  was  settled  probably 
subsequently  to  the  organization  of  the  Association,  but  was  present  at 
its  next  meeting,  two  months  later.  The  seven  churches  here  mentioned 
were  all  that  then  existed  within  the  northern  half  of  the  county,  including 
the  greater  part  of  the  present  counties  of  Tolland  and  Litchfield.  Hartford 
South  Association  embraced  the  same  number  of  churches  at  first,  the  whole 
number  of  churches  in  the  state  at  that  time  being  thirty-nine.  Two  other 
churches,  Enfield  First  and  SufBeld  First,  now  connected  with  this  Associa- 
tion, were  organized  before  this  date,  but  were  then  included  within  the 
limits  of  Massachusetts  colony. 

The  existing  records  of  the  Association  cover  the  whole  period  since  its 
formation,  except  a  hiatus  of  eighteen  years  between  1765  and  1783,  and 
several  other  periods  in  the  first  half  century,  viz. :  1710-13,  1715-16, 
1718,  1729,  1733,1736,  1739  and  1752.  In  many  cases  however  we  have  the 
record  of  only  one  or  two  of  the  three  regular  sessions  of  the  body  each  year, 
and  the  records  which  remain  of  the  earlier  years  contain  frequently  little 
more  than  the  names  of  the  members  present,  always  arranged  according  to 
seniority,  and  the  appointment  of  meetings  and  preachers  for  the  ensuing 
year.  The  Association  undoubtedly  maintained  three  sessions  each  year 
regularly,  February,  June  and  October,  until  1801,  when  the  October  session 
was  omitted,  and  semi-annual  sessions  were  held  until  1850.  Since  the 
last  mentioned  date  the  Association  has  held  quarterly  sessions. 

The  records  first  notice  the  great  revival  of  1740  in  June  1741,  when  the 
Association  advised  a  large  increase  of  ministerial  labor,  frequent  lectures, 
&c.,  neighboring  ministers  assisting  each  other.  It  is  evident  that  all  the 
churches  were  deeply  moved,  and  the  many  disorders  incident  brought 


308  Hartford  North  Association. 

many  questions  of  interest  into  the  Association.  In  1845  the  Association 
adopted  a  "testimony  against  Mr.  Whitefield,"  which  is  referred  to,  but  not 
recorded. 

October  7,  1788,  the  Association  adopted  "  a  plan  for  sending  a  missionary 
into  the  new  countries  (probably  Vermont)  for  ten  weeks,"  and  appointed 
Rev.  Mr.  Perkins  of  West  Hartford  to  the  work,  who  accepted.  This  is, 
probably,  the  beginning  of  the  modern  missionary  work  by  the  churches  of 
this  country.  The  work  thus  begun  seems  to  have  been  continued,  and  in 
October,  1797,  the  Association  "resolved  themselves  into  a  missionary 
society,"  which  was  merged  in  the  general  society,  subsequently  formed  in 
October  of  the  following  year. 

In  October,  1794,  the  Association  established  or  recommended  a  "  concert 
of  prayer  for  the  revival  of  religion,"  to  be  observed  by  their  churches  once 
a  fortnight,  and  issued  a  circular  on  the  subject  to  the  other  associations  of 
the  state.  The  churches  of  this  Association  seem  to  have  shared  largely  in 
the  revivals  which  marked  the  closing  years  of  the  last  century. 

Like  all  the  other  original  Associations,  Hartford  North  has  been  reduced 
in  numbers  from  time  to  time,  by  the  formation  of  new  Associations.  Five 
of  the  fifteen  Associations  in  the  state  have  come  out  of  the  original  Hart- 
ford North  Association ;  and  88  of  the  284  churches  in  the  state  have  grown 
from  the  churches  originally  connected  with  it,  if  we  include  Enfield  and 
Suffield  among  them. 

The  whole  number  of  churches  which  have  been  in  connection  with  the 
Association  from  the  beginning  is  forty-nine. 

The  meetings  of  the  Association  are  quarterly,  on  the  first  Monday  and 
Tuesday  of  March,  June,  September  and  December.  The  proceedings 
embrace  public  worship,  reading  of  essays  or  reviews,  sermons  and  plans  of 
sermons  for  criticism,  critical  reading  of  Greek  Testament,  discussion  of 
doctrinal  and  practical  questions,  and  miscellaneous  business. 

The  moderator  and  scribe  are  chosen  at  each  session. 

The  Hartford  North  Consociation  had  the  same  bounds  as  the  Association 
till  the  division  of  the  latter  in  1844.  Subsequently  it  embraced  the 
churches  of  the  two  Associations,  Hartford  North  and  Hartford  Central.  It 
now  embraces  all  the  churches  of  Hartford  North  Association,  except  two, 
and  a  portion  of  those  of  the  Central  and  Fourth  Associations. 

LICENTIATES. 

NAME.  DATE.  NAME.  DATE. 

Daniel  Newell,  Aug.  IS),  1719  Ashbel  Pitkin,  Feb.  7,  1758 

Daniel  Edwards,  May    t),  1723  George  Colton,  Oct.  3,  17-s 

Jonathan  Arnold,  June    2,  1724  Lcvi  Hart,  June  2,  1761 

Nehemiah  Bull,  June    1,  1725  Scth  Lee,  Oct.  6,  17G1 

Timothy  Woodbridge,  Jr.,  June    3,1735  Jedediah  Strong,  Oct.  4,1763 

Isaac  Baldwin,  Oct.      4, 1737  Jesse  Goodell,  Oct.  4,  1763 

Joshua  Belden,  Oct.      1,1745  Simeon  Miller,  June  5,1764 

Elijah  Mason,  Oct.     6,  1747  Ebenezer  Kingsbury,  June  6,  1786 

Aaron  Brown,  Juno    5.  1750  Abiel  Jones,  June  2,  1789 

Benjamin  Griswold,  Jr.,  Oct.    2, 1750  Calvin  Chapin,  Oct.  6,  1791 

Abel  Newell,  Feb.    5,1754  Gordon  Johnson,  Oct.  1,  17'.<!» 

Nathaniel  Hooker,  Jr.,  Feb.    1,  1757  Jonathan  Belden,  Oct.  1,  17l>9 


Hartford  North  Association. 


309 


Nathaniel  Dwight, 

Oct.      7,  1801    Mark  Ives. 

June    7,  1886 

James  Wheelock  Woodward,  Oct.    7,  1801    George  W.  Bassett, 

Dec.  14,  1836 

Bancroft  Fowler, 

June   1,  1802    Rufus  C.  Clapp, 

Dec.  14,  1836 

Oliver  Wetmore, 

Feb.  15,  1803    Ansel  Dewey, 

Dec,  14,  1836 

Elisha  Yale, 

Feb.  15,  1808    dishing  Eells, 

Dec.  14,  1836 

Jeremiah  Osboru, 

Feb.                    .K.hn  F.  Norton. 

Dec.  14,  1836 

Thomas  Adams, 

Feb.     7.  1S04    Royal  Reed, 

Dec.  14,  1836 

Nathan  Strong,  Jr., 

Feb.    7,  1*04    Ezra  Adams,  Jr., 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Cornelius  Adams, 

June,        1804    David  Bancroft,  Jr., 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Silas  Iligley, 

Feb.    6,  1805    Lumas  II.  Pease, 

Dec.  19,  1887 

Nathan  Johnson, 

Feb.     C.  1805    Lemuel  Pomeroy, 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Koswell  Swan, 

Feb.    6,  1805    James  P.  Terry, 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Henry  Chapman, 

June    3,  1806    Augustus  C.  Thompson. 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Elijah  G.  Welles, 

June    3,  1806    George  Butterfleld, 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Reuben  Chapin, 

Feb.    4,  1807    James  A.  Hazcn, 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Chester  Colton, 

June    8,  1808    Benjamin  B.  Parsons, 

Dec.  19,  1837 

Gilbert  R.  Livingston, 

June    8,  1808    Amos  G.  Beman,  (African) 

June    5,1838 

Nathaniel  G.  Huntington, 

June    6,  1809    James  A.  Hawley, 

June   4,  1839 

Nathan  Perkins,  Jr. 

Feb.    7,  1810    Charles  B.  McLean, 

June    4,  1840 

John  Bartlett,  Jr., 

Feb.    7,  1810    Collins  Stone, 

June    4,  1840 

Amasa  Loomis,  Jr.. 

Feb.     G,  1811    David  F.  Robertson. 

Nov.    5,  1840 

(  'ornelius  B.  Everest. 

Feb.    3,  1813    Nahum  Gale, 

June    1,  1841 

Cyrus  Yale, 

Feb.    3,  1813    Thomes  0.  Rice, 

July  11,  1843 

Royal  Bobbins, 

Feb.    2,  1814    Charles  F.  Gleason, 

July  11,  1843 

Joseph  Mix, 

Feb.    2,  1814    Melzar  Montague, 

July  11,  1848 

George  Allyn, 

Feb.    4,  HIS    Alexander  Yerrington. 

July  11,  1843 

Austin  Dickinson, 

Feb.    4,  1819    Samuel  H.  Galpin, 

June    3,  1845 

Anson  Hubbard, 

Feb.    4,  1819    John  C.  Strong, 

June   3,  1845 

Wm.  C.  Woodbridgc, 

Feb.    4,  1819    W.  A.  Benton, 

Feb.    3,  1846 

Epapbras  Goodman, 

June    6,  1820    Hiram  N.  Gates, 

June  -5,  1849 

Anizi  Franc-is, 

June   4,  1822    Andrew  C.  Denisou, 

June    5,  1849 

Flavel  S.  Gaylord. 

June    4,  1S22    Isaac  N.  Lincoln, 

June    5,  1849 

Eluathan  Gridley. 

June    4,  1823    Charles  H.  Norton, 

June    5,  1849 

Chester  Ishain, 

June    4,  1823    Ira  Case, 

June    4,  1850 

Charles  Wadsworth. 

June    4,  1823    Frederick  H.  Brewster, 

June    4,  1850 

Alphens  Ferry, 

Feb.    3,  1*24    Francis  F.  Williams, 

June    4,  1850 

John  Richards, 

June    1,  1*'24    David  Breed, 

June    4,  1S51 

Horatio  M.  Brinsmadc, 

June    1,  1824    Charles  Hartwell, 

June    4,  1851 

Joseph  Foot, 

June   1,1S24    Robert  D.  Miller, 

June   4,  1851 

Reuben  Porter, 

June    1,  1824    Wm.  R.  Palmer, 

June   4,  1851 

Walter  Colton, 

June    7.  1825    George  J.  Stearns. 

June   4,  1851 

Horatio  N.  Hubbell, 

Feb.    7,  1826"  Joseph  D.  Strong, 

June   4,  1851 

Bennett  Roberts, 

Feb.    7,  182G    John  M.  Francis, 

Sept.  3,  1851 

Justin  Marsh, 

Feb.    6,  1827    Oscar  P.  Bissell, 

June    1,  1852 

Algernon  L.  Kennedy, 

June    3,  1S2S    George  W.  Connitt, 

June    1,  1852 

Joel  Talcott, 

June    8,  1828    Timothy  A.  Hazen, 

June    1,  1852 

Lemuel  Foster, 

June    1,  1830    William  B.  Lee, 

June    1,  1852 

Elijah  P.  Barrows, 

June    7,  1831    Marcus  M.  Carlton, 

June    7,  1853 

John  L.  Bartlett, 

June    7,  1831    J.  W.  Marcussohn  (Jew), 

March  7,  1854 

Abel  L.  Barber, 

June   4,  1833    O.  W.  Merrill, 

June    6,  1855 

Noah  Porter,  Jr., 

June    2,1835    *  J.  K.  Nutting, 

June    6,  1855 

Wm.  E.  Dixon,  Jr., 

Sept.  17,  1835 

*  License  withdrawn  from  Mr.  Nutting,  September  2, 1856. 


HARTFORD  SOUTH  ASSOCIATION. 

In  1811,  the  following  " associational  compact"  was  adopted  and  signed 
by  the  members,  and  is  the  compact  of  the  Association  at  this  time : 

"  We  the  subscribers,  who  constitute  the  South  Association  of  Hartford 
county,  do  engage  and  covenant  to  watch  over  each  other  in  things  pertain- 
ing to  our  Christian  and  ministerial  conduct,  and  to  consider  ourselves  indi- 
vidually as  amenable  to  the  said  Association,  whenever  it  shall  call  us  to  an 
account" 

"  We  further  agree  that  a  subscription  to  this  covenant  shall  constitute 
membership  of  the  Association." 

At  the  time  this  "  compact"  was  adopted  it  was  signed  by  twenty -four 
ministers. 

In  October,  1823, 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Association  will  abstain  in  their  per- 
sons and  families  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits ;  and  also  that  they  will  not 
give  such  spirits  either  to  those  who  labor  for  them  or  to  those  who  enjoy 
hospitality  at  their  houses. 

On  the  subject  of  Domestic  Missions  the  following  passed  October  6, 
1829: 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Association  do  cordially  approve  the 
object  of  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  and  that  we  will  exert  ourselves 
in  aid  of  such  Society. 

1832,  the  Association  declare,  with  regard  to  religious  charities,  that  they 
consider  the  most  important  objects  to  be  Home  and  Foreign  Missions,  the 
Bible  Society  and  the  American  Education  Society.  They  assume  the  whole 
responsibility  of  raising  funds,  considering  each  minister  to  be  an  agent  in 
his  own  parish ;  but  in  any  special  emergency,  and  at  least  once  in  four 
years,  the  Association  \vill  appoint  one  of  their  number  to  act  as  agent  for 
each  of  these  objects. 

1845.  Resolved,  That  the  Association  be  an  Auxiliary  Home  Missionary 
Society. 

1856,  June  3d,  A  resolution  was  passed  "  That  it  is  competent  for  an  As- 
sociation to  ordain  a  candidate  to  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry." 

The  Association  regards  with  disapprobation  the  too  common  asperity  in 
the  tone  and  language  of  religious  newspapers,  and  desires  the  General  Asso- 
ciation to  give  the  weight  of  its  influence  against  it. 


Hartford  South  Association. 


311 


LICENTIATES. 

NAME. 

DATE.                                     \  \.\lh. 

DATE. 

Josiah  Wolcott, 

Oct.,    1744    Sylvester  Sage, 

June,    17>- 

Samuel  Fisk, 

Feb.,    1745    Gad  Newell, 

June,    1789 

Aaron  Hutchinson, 

Oct.,    1747    Joseph  E.  Camp, 

Oct.,    1789 

Samuel  Lockwood, 

"           Asahel  Hooker, 

u 

Joseph  Clark, 

Feb.,    1748    Silas  Churchill, 

Feb.,    1790 

Samuel  Lankton, 

Oct.,    1749    Isaac  Porter, 

June,    179o 

Izruhiah  Wetmore, 

June,    1750    Whitefleld    Cowles, 

Oct.,    1790 

Joseph  Fowler, 

June,    1751    James  K.  Garusey, 

« 

Noadiah  Russel, 

Oct.,    1753    Israel  B.  Woodward, 

June,    1791 

Jesse  Root, 

June,    1757    Stephen  Fenn, 

« 

Oliver  Noble, 

Feb.,    1758    Asahel  S.  Norton, 

June,    1792 

John  Eells, 

Oct.,    1758    Bezaleel  Pinneo, 

Oct.,     1793 

Benj.  Boardman, 

Feb.,    1760    Ebenezer  Porter, 

June,    1794 

Caleb  Fuller, 

"             Samuel  Shepard, 

M 

Jacob  Sherwin, 

June,    1761    Joseph.  Washburn, 

(( 

Night  Saxton,  Jr., 

"             William  Hart, 

June,    1800 

Thomas  Niles, 

Oct.,    1761    Mark  Mead, 

June,    1804 

Eliphalet  Iluntington, 

"             Eli  Hyde, 

u 

Robert  Robbins, 

June,  1763    Samnel  Whittlesey, 

u 

Jedidiah  Chapman, 

June,    1764    Hosea  Beckley, 

June,    1805 

Daniel  Fuller, 

"            Samuel  Rich, 

M 

Elijah  Mason, 

"             Jonathan  Bird, 

June,    1807 

Samuel  Woodbridge, 

Oct.,    1765    John  Chester,  Jr., 

Oct.,     1807 

Salmon  Hurlbutt, 

June,    1766    John  Marsh,  Jr., 

June,    1809 

Chauncey  Whittlesey, 

June    1767    Charles  A.  Goodrich, 

June,    1815 

Sterling  Graves, 

Oct.,    1767    William  Chester, 

Oct.,     1817 

Samuel  Eells, 

Feb.,    1768    William  Williams, 

June,    1820 

James  Eells, 

Oct.,   1768    Joseph  Goodrich, 

June,    1822 

Oliver  Deming, 

Oct.,    1769    Edward  Robinson, 

Oct.,     1822 

Nathaniel  Emrnons, 

"            Samuel  H  Cowles, 

Oct.  1824 

Robert  Hubbard,  Jr., 

Oct.,    1771    Timothy  Stillman,  2d, 

Oct.   1829 

Joseph  Kirby,  Jr. 

Harvey  R.  Hitchcock, 

Oct.  1830 

Gershom  Bulkley, 

June,   1772    Judah  Ely,  (revoked  June  5, 

Selden  Church, 

Feb.,     1774        1832), 

June  1831 

Wm.  Lockwood, 

June   1777    Zebulon  Crocker, 

Oct.   1831 

Joshua  Johnson, 

„             Samuel  Porter, 

June    1835 

Timothy  Woodbridge, 

Oct.,    1778    Luzerne  Ray, 

Oct.   1835 

John  Lewis, 

June,    1780    Josiah  Abbott, 

June    1838 

William  Plum, 

June,    1781    Henry  Clark, 

Oct.   1838 

Joseph  Barker, 

Amos  S.  Chesebrough, 

June    1839 

Fred.  W.  Hotchkiss, 

Oct.,    1782    James  Averill, 

Aug.  1830 

Joshua  Williams, 

"           Thomas  Bailey, 

K 

Thomas  Low, 

"           Phineas  Blakeman, 

H 

David  Selden, 

June,    1783    Sidney  Bryant, 

« 

Zephaniah  Hollister  Smith, 

"           Charles  P.  Bush, 

H 

Wait  Comwell, 

Feb.,    1784    David  B.  Coe, 

H 

John  Willard,  Jr., 

Horace  Day, 

(. 

Jonathan  Fuller, 

June,    1784    Friend  A.  Deming, 

H 

Ethan  Osborn, 

June,    1786    Charles  Dickinson, 

« 

David  Higgins, 

"           Edgar  J.  Doolittle, 

(C 

Samuel  Kellogg, 

Oct.,    1787    Stedman  W.  Hanks, 

M 

Elija  Gridley, 

June,    1788    Phllo  R.  Hurd, 

K 

312 


Hartford  South  Association. 


David  Judson, 
Benjamin  N.  Martin, 
James  P.  McCord, 
Colby  C.  Mitchel, 
Oacar  F.  Parker, 
Charles  Rich, 
Thomas  Tallman, 
Ilorace  A.  Taylor, 
Samuel  M.  Wood, 
Elias  Clark, 
Israel  P.  Warren, 
Isaac  W.  Plnmmer, 


DATE. 

HUB. 

DATE. 

Aug.  1838 

Ralph  Perry, 

Oct.,  184^ 

M 

James  Kilboum, 

a 

<t 

Wm.  S.  Wright, 

June,  1843 

u 

Wm.  A.  Thompson, 

u 

tt 

John  S.  Whittlesey, 

u 

u 

Nathaniel  H.  Egglcston, 

u 

u 

Lewis  Edwards  Sykes, 

(1 

u 

Rollin  D.  H.  Allen, 

June,  1844 

u 

8.  R.  Davis, 

June,  1845 

u 

W.  W.  Belden, 

Oct.,    1845 

June,  1841 

Guy  B.  Day, 

Oct.,    1847 

Oct.,    1842 

John  H.  Newton, 

June,  1S54 

LITCHFIELD  NORTH  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Association  of  Litchfield  County  was  formed  July  7th,  1752,  and  then 
embraced  the  pastors  of  all  the  Congregational  churches  within  the  county. 
The  churches  were  at  the  same  time  organized  into  a  Consociation.  In  1791, 
the  Consociation  was  divided,  and  the  Association  was  divided  the  next  year  ; 
the  limits  of  each  corresponding  with  those  of  the  Consociation.  The  As- 
sociation, when  it  embraced  all  the  Congregational  pastors  in  the  county, 
were  remarkably  harmonious  in  their  views  of  truth  and  duty. 

The  following  extract  from  their  minutes,  dated  May,  1757,  shows  what 
were  their  views  on  theological  subjects  :  "  Whereas,  the  Rev.  General  As- 
sociation in  their  meeting,  June,  1756,  recommended  it  to  the  particular  As- 
sociations of  this  colony  to  manifest  their  concurrence  with  the  Saybrook 
Confession  of  Faith  ;  this  Association  having  taken  it  into  consideration,  do 
hereby  declare  their  unanimous  assent  and  consent  to  the  articles  of  the 
Christian  religion  contained  in  said  public  confession  so  far  as  they  are  con- 
tained in  the  Assembly  of  Divines'  Shorter  Catechism  ;  and  as  to  the  plat- 
form of  discipline,  we  think  it  not  expedient  that  any  alteration  be  made  in 
the  public  impression ;  but  that  every  Consociation  be  at  liberty  to  vary  in 
such  things  as  to  them  appear  exceptionable." 

A  practice  of  the  Association,  designed  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  un- 
sound men  into  their  body,  was  that  of  examining  those  who  had  received 
a  call  for  settlement  before  an  answer  to  such  call  might  be  given.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  example  of  their  practice :  "  Mr.  Samuel  John  Mills  [having] 
offered  himself  to  examination,  in  order  to  his  being  approved  of  for  ordina- 
tion in  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  over  the  church  and  people  of  Tor- 
ringford,  was  examined  and  approved,  and  recommended  to  them  as  a  meet 
person,  qualified  to  settle  with  them  in  that  work."  Sept.  20,  1768. 

It  was  customary,  also,  for  destitute  churches  of  that  day  to  request  the 
Association  to  recommend  to  them  suitable  persons  to  be  employed  as  can- 
didates for  settlement. 

The  period,  from  the  formation  of  these  ecclesiastical  bodies  in  1752  to  the 
division  of  them  in  1791,  was  for  the  greater  part  of  it  a  time  of  great  ca- 
lamity and  distress,  by  reason  of  war  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  colonies. 
Instead  of  directing  their  attention  to  Christianizing  the  heathen,  they 
had,  in  common  with  others,  to  exert  all  their  influence  to  prevent  their 
coming  under  the  dominion  of  a  persecuting  Roman  Catholic  government. 
While  everything  was  thus  unfriendly  to  the  religious  prosperity  of  the 
churches,  the  Association  yet  ever  evinced  a  readiness  to  engage  in  any  en- 
terprise which  promised  good  to  the  cause  of  Christ  or  the  welfare  of  man. 
Witness  their  annual  delegation  to  the  convention  of  ministers  of  the  synods 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  from  1766  to  1775,  when  those  conventions 
were  terminated  by  the  Revolutionary  war.  See  the  measures  they  adopted 
in  1774  for  promoting  the  education  of  pious  negroes  for  missionaries  to  Af~ 

41 


314 


Litchfield  North  Association. 


rica,  and  for  the  extension  of  the  gospel  in  Virginia  in  1779.  To  this  may 
be  added  their  ready  response  to  a  call  for  a  mission  to  Vermont  in  1788. 

Those  fathers  and  brethren  lived  in  times  which  occasioned  hardships  and 
self-denials  of  which  we  have  no  experience.  The  newness  of  the  settle- 
ments— the  imperfect  state  of  the  roads — the  distance  they  had  to  travel  in 
attending  ecclesiastical  meetings — the  straightened  condition  of  their  churches 
and  societies  during  the  French  and  Revolutionary  wars,  and  other  difficul- 
ties with  which  they  had  to  struggle,  laid  on  them  burdens  of  no  ordinary 
weight.  The  manner  in  which  most  of  them  bore  those  burdens,  proved 
them  to  be  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ.  Some  of  them  were  chaplains  in 
the  army,  and  suffered  privations  and  toils  peculiar  to  that  service. 

The  harmony,  zeal,  and  success  with  which  many  of  those  fathers  labored 
in  promoting  revivals  of  religion  near  the  close  of  the  last  century  and  the 
former  part  of  the  present,  are  too  well  known  to  require  a  particular  descrip- 
tion. 

Of  the  forty-four  ministers  who  belonged  to  the  Association  previous  to 
this  division,  twelve  passed  the  fiftieth  year  of  their  ministry  with  the  same 
people. 

1795.  The  Association,  after  discussion,  resolved,  that  the  duty  of  fam- 
ily  prayer  is  so  clearly  enjoined  by  the  general  tenor  of  scripture,  that  the 
habitual  neglect  of  it  in  a  professor  of  Christianity,  is  censurable  even  to  ex- 
communication. 

1796.  Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  for  ministers  to  travel  on  the  Sab- 
bath for  the  purpose  of  exchange,  except  in  cases  of  urgent  necessity. 

1798.  Association  drafted  and  adopted  a  constitution  for  a  missionary  so- 
ciety. 

1811.  Resolved,  That  the  use  of  wine  and  all  other  ardent  spirits  shall 
henceforth  be  excluded  from  our  associational  meetings.  That  the  members 
of  the  Association  will  use  their  influence  to  discountenance  the  use  of  wine 
and  all  ardent  spirits  in  their  families  and  in  their  social  visits  among  their 
people. 

LICENTIATES. 


Daniel  Smith, 
Thomas  Robbins, 
Josiah  B.  Hawes, 
James  Beach, 
John  Keep, 
John  Hyde, 
Josiah  W.  Cannon, 
Moses  Gillett, 
Abel  McEwen, 
Experience  Porter, 
Thomas  Pnnderson, 
I'rince  Hawes, 
Timothy  P.  Gillett, 
Bennett  Tyler, 
Heman  Humphrey, 
Frederick  Marsh, 


WHEN  LICENSED. 

NAME. 

Oct.     2,  1792 

John  Woodbridge, 

Sep.  25,  1798 

Win.  Bonney, 

Sep.  28,  1802 

Caleb  Pitkin, 

June  11,  1805 

Allen  McLean. 

June  11,  1805 

Francis  King, 

June  11,  1805 

Horatio  Waldo, 

June  11,  1805 

Daniel  Haskell, 

June  11,  1805 

Lucas  Hart, 

Sep.  24,  1805 

Francis  L.  Eobbins, 

Dec.  21,  1805 

Solyman  Brown, 

June  11,  1806 

Luther  Humphrey, 

June  11,  1806 

Euggles  Gould, 

Sep.  30,  1806 

Walter  Smith, 

Sep.  30,  1806 

Chauncey  Lee, 

Sep.  30,  1806 

Abraham  Baldwin, 

Sep.  30,  1806 

James  Ely, 

WHEN   LICENSED. 

June,  1807 
June,  1807 
June,  1807 
Sep.  29,  1809 
June  14,  1808 
June  14,  1808 
Sep.  27,  1808 
Sep.  25,  1810 
Sep.  30,  1813 
Sep.  30,  1813 
Sep.  27,  1814 
Sep.  29,  1815 
Sep.  30,  181s 
Sep.  26,  1820 
June,  1822 
June,  1822 


Litckfield  North  Association, 


315 


Jacob  Catlin, 

Sep.  30,  1823 

Ephruim  Lynian, 

June,      1»35 

John  II.  Prentice, 

Sep.  30,  1823 

Willis  Lord, 

May,       1834 

George  Cowles, 

June   8,  1824 

Milo  N.  Niles, 

May,       1834 

Stephen  Peet, 

Sep.  27,  1824 

David  C.  Perry, 

Mar.  28,  1836 

Ilarley  Goodwin, 

Sep.         1825 

E.  W.  Andrews, 

May  23,  1837 

Jairus  Burt, 

June  13,  1826 

Oliver  St.  John, 

June   9,  1841 

Peter  A.  Brinsraade, 

June  10,  1828 

Almond  B.  Pratt, 

June   9,  1841 

Henry  Cowles, 

June  10,  1828 

Hirain  Harris  Euyter, 

Sep.  29,  1841 

Josephuu  B.  Loring, 

June   9,  1829 

Henry  B.  Blake, 

June  13,  1843 

John  M.  S.  Perry, 

June   8,  1830 

Azariah  Eldridge, 

Sep.  24,  1844 

Eleazer  Holt, 

June  14,  1831 

E.  B.  Andrews, 

June  4,  1846 

John  P.  Pepper, 

June  11,  1833 

Samuel  J.  Andrews, 

June  16,  1846 

Charles  T.  Prentice, 

Sep.  30,  1834 

Elisha  Whittlesey, 

June  12,  1849 

LITCHFIELD  SOUTH  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Association  of  Litchfield  County,  formed  in  1752,  was  divided  in 
1 792.  At  first  there  were  fifteen  churches,  and  before  the  division  they  had 
increased  to  twenty-eight.  At  the  close  of  a  century  from  the  organization 
of  the  original  Association  and  Consociation,  in  1852,  both  bodies,  sixty 
years  after  the  division,  met  in  convention  at  Litchfield  for  a  century  cele- 
bration. There  were  then  forty -four  churches ;  and  two  have  been  since 
formed.  Discourses  were  delivered  on  that  occasion ;  a  historical  address 
by  Rev.  D.  L.  Parmelee ;  an  address  on  the  religious  society  of  the  olden 
time,  by  Rev.  E.  W.  Hooker,  D.  D. ;  biographical  sketches  of  Litchfield 
county  ministers  were  read  by  Rev.  Abel  McEwen,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Cyrus 
Yale ;  and  a  report  respecting  revivals,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Eldridge,  D.  D. 

During  the  first  forty  years,  the  Association  rarely  failed  of  two  sessions 
annually,  with  many  occasional  meetings.  Its  advice  was  constantly  sought 
by  vacant  churches  in  obtaining  candidates.  Pastors  only  were  members  of 
it.  No  one  was  dismissed  by  vote  ;  its  entire  action  was  by  those  who  were 
pastors  ;  and  its  watch  and  care  were  extended  over  those  who  had  been  dis- 
missed and  continued  unsettled.  In  the  important  duty  of  licensing  candi- 
dates, the  Association  was  strict  and  faithful ;  probably  the  majority  of  them 
were  students  of  Dr.  Bellamy,  who  kept  one  of  the  early  "  schools  of  the 
prophets." 

In  regard  to  the  sacredness  of  the  pastoral  relation,  as  held  in  early  times, 
the  case  of  Dr.  Bellamy  is  worthy  of  note.  The  Presbyterian  church  in 
New  York  City  had  given  him  a  call,  and  the  Consociation  of  Litchfield 
county,  after  several  adjournments,  found  the  affair  attended  with  such  diffi- 
culties, as  well  as  in  its  own  nature  of  such  importance,  that  they  did  not 
look  upon  it  as  safe  for  them  finally  to  determine  on  the  case,  but  asked  the 
assistance  of  the  neighboring  Consociation,  (Fairfield  East.)  After  two 
months  the  two  bodies  met  at  Bethlem,  but  did  not  come  to  their  result  till 
the  fourth  day.  Though  they  commiserated  the  destitute  and  melancholy 
circumstances  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  in  New  York,  yet,  with  all 
the  attending  circumstances,  in  the  best  light  afforded,  they  thought  it  not 
for  the  honor  of  our  common  Lord  and  the  best  interests  of  our  holy  reli- 
gion for  Dr.  Bellamy  to  be  dismissed.  Had  he  gone  there,  his  ministry 
would  have  been  suspended  during  the  most  of  the  period  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war ;  also  his  school  of  the  prophets ;  and  possibly  his  labors  as  a  theo- 
logical writer  had  not  blessed  the  church. 

Some  few  of  the  churches  were  for  a  time  affected  by  the  Separatists  ;  two 
or  three  pastors,  in  a  measure,  sympathized  or  favored  them ;  but,  as  sober 
second  thoughts  prevailed,  the  evil  gradually  ceased,  in  a  way,  that  while 
some  suffered  loss,  yet  all  escaped  safe  to  land  and  returned  to  the  old  paths. 


Litchfield  South  Association.  317 

With  regard  to  Sabbath  schools,  as  their  origin  has  been  a  question  of  in- 
terest, it  is  proper  to  state  that  Dr.  Bellamy,  whose  ministry  commenced  in 
Bethlem,  in  1740,  had  a  Sabbath  school  from  the  beginning.  It  was  com- 
posed of  two  classes ;  the  older  class  was  instructed  by  the  pastor  himself  in 
the  scriptures,  from  which  they  learned  portions  and  were  questioned  upon 
them  ;  and  the  other  class  studied  the  Assembly's  Catechism,  under  the  in- 
struction of  a  deacon  or  some  prominent  member  of  the  church. 

The  half-way  covenant  caused  much  trouble  where  it  was  adopted.  For 
the  sake  of  peace,  it  was  recommended  to  churches  to  dismiss  those  who 
could  not  acquiesce  in  their  practice  to  a  neighboring  church  where  the  usage 
was  the  reverse.  The  great  majority  of  the  early  pastors  were  firm  in  the 
faith ;  the  influence  of  Dr.  Bellamy  and  of  others  was  for  good  beyond  what 
the  records  show. 

The  pastors  of  the  county,  with  scarcely  an  exception  were,  in  instruction, 
influence  and  practice,  on  the  side  of  temperance  ;  they  were  pioneers  in 
the  work ;  they  performed  their  full  portion  of  labor  in  annual  missionary 
tours  among  the  forming  settlements  in  Vermont  and  central  and  western 
New  York.  While  annual  collections  were  taken  under  a  "  brief"  from  the 
Governor  for  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  the  contributions  of  the 
churches  were  among  the  most  liberal ;  and  still  later  the  various  benevolent 
objects  have  been  well  sustained.  It  is  said  during  the  early  years  of  the 
American  Board,  as  the  annual  remittance  from  this  county  was  received  in  a 
pressing  emergency,  that  Dr.  Worcester,  its  first  secretary,  thanked  God 
that  he  had  made  Litchfield  county. 

The  Consociational  system  of  Litchfield  South  has  generally  commended 
itself  to  the  churches  in  its  successful  workings.  The  opposition  to  it  has 
been  chiefly  because  it  was  not  an  ecclesiastical  court,  to  accommodate 
those  of  such  hasty  spirit  that  they  are  not  willing  to  wait  peaceably  for  the 
result  of  peaceable  reference.  But  such  opposition  has  been  chiefly  occasional, 
temporary  and  spasmodic.  Only  one  church  in  more  than  two-thirds  of  a 
century  has  withdrawn,  and  that  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  but 
has  long  since  retuned.  The  Consociation  has  combined  every  advantage 
of  a  select  council,  while  it  has  given  stability  and  influence  to  its  results, 
which  occasional  councils  could  not  have  done  in  the  same  degree.  It  has 
been  a  bond  of  union  and  love  among  the  pastors  and  churches.  It  is  so  es- 
timated by  ecclesiastical  societies,  and  several  of  them  hold  their  funds  on 
condition  that  their  ministers  are  approved  by  the  Consociation.  Of  the 
influence  of  Consociations,  whether  their  acts  have  been  advisory  or  judicial, 
their  doings  have,  with  rare  exceptions,  been  approved;  though  for  a 
time,  some  may  have  been  disappointed  in  their  results  and  grieved  or  offend- 
ed. The  fact  that  nearly  every  church  voluntarily  continues  its  connection, 
is  the  best  testimony  that  Consociations  are  a  bond  of  union  and  fellowship 
among  the  churches,  and  of  assistance  to  them.  Their  perpetuity  is  proof 
of  their  usefulness.  See  Proceedings  at  the  Litchfield  County  Centennial 
Anniversary,  1852. 


318 


Litchfield  South  Association. 


LICENTIATES. 


1754  Noah  Wadhams. 
"    Benajah  Roots, 

"    Benjamin  Chapman, 

1755  Josiah  Sherman, 
"    Seth  Norton, 

1756  Simeon  Stoddard, 

1757  John  Smalley, 

1758  Benoni  Bradner, 
"    Caleb  Curtis, 

1760  William  Hanna, 

1762  Benjamin  Prince, 

"    Richard  Crouch  Graham, 

1763  David  Brownson, 

1764  Ephraim  Judson, 

1766  Samuel  J.  Mills, 
"    Samuel  Camp, 

"    Henry  Jackson, 
"    Moses  Hartwell, 
"    Job  Smith, 
"    Jonathan  Edwards, 

1767  Jeremiah  Day, 

1768  Jehu  Miner, 

1769  Joel  Benedict, 

1770  Abner  Ben  edict, 
"    Josiah  Graves, 

"    Lemuel  L.  Bacon, 
"    Isaac  Story, 
"    Thomas  Miner, 

1771  Nathan  Hale, 
"    Joshua  Knapp, 

1772  Josiah  Colton, 
1775  William  Bradford, 

1778  Noble  Everett, 

1779  Justus  Mitchel, 

1780  John  Stevens, 

1781  Benjamin  Bell, 
1784  Isaac  Osborn. 
1789  Chauncey  Lee, 
1791  Nathan  Eliot, 
1796  John  Clark, 
1800  Benjamin  Prime, 
1803  Charles  Prentice, 

1805  Aaron  Dutton, 

1806  Mills  Day, 
1809  Joseph  Harvey, 

"   Judson  Hall 
"    Austin  Hazen, 

1811  John  Seward, 

"    MathewRice  Dntton, 
"  Asa  Blair, 
"    Joseph  Treat, 
"    Alfred  Mitchell, 

1812  AmmiLinsley, 
1815  Edwin  W.  D wight, 


1816  Elias  Cornelius, 

1822  Erastus  Clapp, 

"    Herman  L.  Vaill, 

1823  Giles  Doolittle, 
"    Benj.  B.  Smith, 

1824  Samuel  G.  Orton, 
1826  Moses  Raymond,  Jr., 

1828  Isaac  Beach, 

1829  Theron  Baldwin, 

"    Julian  M.  Sturtevant, 
"    Asa  Turner, 
"    David  A.  Grosvenor, 
"    James  T.  Dickinson, 
"    George  J.  Tillotson, 

1830  Wyllys  Warner, 

1831  Sidney  Mills, 

1832  John  P.  Cowles, 

1833  Levi  S.  Beebe, 

1834  Richard  M.  Chipman, 

1835  Merit  T.  Platt, 

"    Isaac  W.  Warner, 
"    George  T.  Todd, 
"    William  Pitcher, 

1836  George  Tomlinson, 
"    Samuel  W.  Pond, 

1838  Henry  F.  Wadsworth, 
"    Austin  Isham, 
"    Nathaniel  Richardson, 
"    Merritt  Richardson, 
"    Reuben  Gaylord, 
1839  Samuel  G.  Whittlesey, 

"    William  T.  Bakh, 

"    Walter  Clark, 

1840  Isaac  Striker, 
"    Henry  Clarke, 
"    Anson  Smyth, 

1841  John  H.  Pettingell, 
"    Andrew  L.  Stone, 

1842  James  H.  Howe, 

"    William  R.  Chapman, 
"    George  T.  Dole, 

"    Isaac  Jennings, 
"    Isaac  G.  Sawyer, 

"    Ephraira  W.  Allen, 

"    Ebenezer  P.  Rogers, 

1844  Darius  M.  Hoyt, 
"    Ira  H.  Smith, 

"    Charles  Fabrique, 
"    Elisha  W.  Cook, 
"    William  Baldwin, 
"    Albert  K.  Teele, 
"    David  B.  Davidson, 

1845  Chauncey  H.  Hubbnrd, 
"    William  Smeaton, 


MIDDLESEX  ASSOCIATION. 

When  the  Saybrook  Platform  went  into  operation,  the  ministers  then  living 
within  the  present  limits  of  Middlesex  Association  belonged  to  the  Associa. 
tions  in  the  counties  of  New 'London  and  Hartford.  They  and  their  churches 
were  also  connected  with  the  Consociation  in  those  counties.  The  erection 
of  Middlesex  county  in  1785,  consisting  of  towns  taken  from  the  counties  of 
New  London  and  Hartford,  opened  the  way  for  an  ecclesiastical  change. 
Accordingly,  at  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Western  Association  of 
New  London,  living  within  the  limits  of  the  new  county,  held  October  2d, 
1787,  a  resolution  was  passed,  That,  whereas  the  Honorable  General  As- 
sembly of  this  state  have  formed  a  new  county  by  the  name  of  Middlesex,  it 
becomes  expedient,  according  to  the  Platform,  that  an  Association  and  Con- 
sociation should  be  formed  consisting  of  ministers  and  churches  within  the 
county.  These  bodies  were  accordingly  formed  by  the  ministers  and 
churches  of  Saybrook  and  Killingworth,  (six  churches  and  six  pastors,)  giv- 
ing full  liberty  to  those  of  Hartford  South  within  the  limits  of  the  new 
county  to  retain  their  former  connection  or  join  the  new  body,  as  they  might 
judge  expedient ;  and  also  agreeing  to  receive  the  pastor  and  churches  of 
Lyme  according  to  their  desire. 

Agreeably  to  these  provisions,  the  ministers  of  Haddam,  Middle  Haddam, 
East  Hampton,  Westchester  in  Colchester,  East  Haddam  and  Lyme,  and 
also  the  churches  at  Deep  River  and  Essex,  since  formed,  united  with  the 
Association.  The  churches  and  ministers  of  Middletown  and  Portland, 
as  a  matter  of  convenience,  retain  their  connection  with  Hartford  South. 
Durham,  annexed  to  the  county  in  1799,  for  the  same  reason  retains  its  con- 
nection with  New  Haven  East. 

The  rules  and  usages  of  this  body  are  much  like  those  of  the  other  Asso- 
ciations of  the  State. 

LICENTIATES. 

NAME.  WHEN   LICENSED.  NAME.  "WHEN  LICENSED. 

John  Ely,  June  3, 1788  William  Bushnell,  " 

Matthew  Noyes,  Sep.  3, 1788  Josiah  S.  Emery,  " 

John  Eliot,  July  7,  1790  Isaac  Hill,  June    4,  1838 

Diodate  Brockway,  Oct.  3, 1798  Ellery  Bascom.  " 

William  F.  Vaill,  Sep.  15, 1807  Marvin  Boot,  " 

Jonathan  Cone,  Mar.  1810  Samuel  R.  Ely,  " 

Samuel  T.  Mills,  Oct.  2,  1810  Elias  P.  Ely,  Oct.    2, 1S33 

Sylvester  Selden,  "  Oliver  B.  Butterneld,  June  7,  1836 

Joseph  Vaill,  2d,  June  1, 1813  Wm.  C.  Foote,  " 

William  Ely,  June  3,1817  Z.R.Ely,  « 

Israel  Shaler,  June  2,  1818  Henry  M.  Field,  Oct.    6,  1840 

William  Mitchel,  June  5,  1821  Edward  W.  Champlin,  Oct.    5,  1841 

Jonathan  Silliman,  "  Frederick  A.  Pratt,  June    7,1842 

Noah  Smith,  "  Edgar  Perkins,  June   6,  1843 

George  W.  Boggs,  June  8,  1831  Wm.  W.  Atwater,  Aug.   7,  1849 


320  Middlesex  Association. 

Frauklin  Holmes,  Aug.    7, 1849    Allyn  S.  Kellogg,  Aug.    7, 1849 


Andrew  F.  Dickson, 
Benj.  B.  Hopkinson, 
Chester  N.  Bighter, 
James  Weller, 
Sylvanus  P.  Marvin, 
Swift  Byington, 


Henry  D.  Platt,  " 

Edwin  Johnson,  " 

Edward  D.  Chapman,  June    3, 1851 

Eichard  B.  Bull,  Oct.    4,  1854 

John  C.  Hutchinson,  Oct.    4,  1859 


NEW  HAVEN  CENTRAL  ASSOCIATION. 

This  Association  was  formed  May  3d,  1853,  by  members  from  the  New 
Haven  West  and  New  Haven  East  Associations — chiefly  from  New  Haven 
West.  Its  local  limits  are  not  exactly  defined.  Its  present  members  are 
chiefly  in  New  Haven  city  and  town,  and  in  towns  in  New  Haven  county, 
upon  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  and  the  Naugatuck  railroads.  The  object 
of  the  Association  is  that  the  members  may  promote  each  other's  improve- 
ment in  all  the  qualifications  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  and  to  aid  each 
other  in  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office,  and  in  advancing  the  interests  of 
the  churches.  For  this  object  they  meet  every  month,  and  have  an  annual 
meeting  for  review  of  the  year  in  June. 

LICENTIATES. 

1853.  1857. 
William  Elliott  Bassett,  J.  II.  Anketell, 
Greenleaf  Cheney,  Henry  Loomis, 
Stephen  Fenn,  C.  C.  Tiffany. 
James  A.  Gallup,  1858. 
Leonard  "W.  Bacon.  Edward  A.  Walker, 

1854.  Edward  P.  Wells. 
Willis  S.  Colton,  1859. 

J.  L.  Jenkins,  George  M.  Smith, 

J.  Y.  Leonard,  Charles  B.  Dye, 

Theodore  T.  Hunger,  Eichard  Crittenden, 

C.  T.  Seropyan,  Horace  H.  McFarland. 
J.  L.  Tomlinson,  1860. 

Henry  Case.  George  B.  Bacon, 

1855.  Charles  C.  Carpenter, 
Charles  H.  Bassett,  E.  N.  Crossman, 
Henry  Losch,  Edgar  L.  Heermance, 
Andrew  J.  Willard.  P.  II.  Holister, 

1856.  Daniel  A.  Miles, 
Kinsley  Twining,  John  L.  Mills, 
Charles  M.  Tyler,  Chauncey  D.  Murray, 


NEW  HAVEN  EAST  ASSOCIATION. 

There  are  no  records  of  the  meetings  of  the  Association  back  of  March 
28th,  1734  ;  though  the  record  book  is  dated  May  27th,  1731.  Long  previous 
to  this,  the  Association  not  only  existed,  but  probably,  as  afterwards,  embra- 
ced all  the  ordained  ministers  of  the  county.  Soon  after  the  adoption  of  the 
Say  brook  Platform  in  1708,  the  Association  took  a  compact  form  ;  though 
the  ministers  had  frequent  meetings  before  that  time,  as  is  evident  from  the 
comment  on  the  12th  article  of  discipline  in  the  Platform,  agreed  upon  at  the 
meeting  which  formed  the  Consociation,  April,  1709. 

The  minutes  of  that  meeting  are  contained  in  the  first  book  of  records  of 
the  Association  ; — present  Rev.  Messrs.  Andrew  of  New  Haven,  Pierpont 
of  Milford,  Russell  of  Branford,  Moss  of  Derby,  and  Hart  of  East  Guil- 
ford,  with  their  delegates,  of  whom  there  were  two  from  each  church  except 
Derby  and  East  Guilford.  The  object  of  this  organization  was  stated 
to  be  that  communion  which  is  a  principal  means  for  the  preservation 
of  the  peace,  order,  establishment  and  consolation  of  the  churches.  Votes 
were  also  passed  on  thirteen  "  articles  of  the  method  of  managing  dis- 
cipline as  it  was  agreed  on  by  the  council  at  Saybrook,  September,  1708," 
at  the  request  of  "some  members  desiring  the  council's  sense "  of  those 
articles.  Since  these  comments  show  the  understanding  of  the  sys- 
tem by  its  friends,  they  are  here  inserted.  By  comparing  them  with  the 
text  of  the  Platform,  which  they  are  designed  to  illustrate,  their  full  mean- 
ing will  be  gathered. 

1.  As  to  the  first  article,  we  conclude,  if  the  majority  of  the  brethren  do 
not  consent,  the  elders  cannot  proceed  to  act.     If  the  elders  cannot  consent, 
the  fraternity  cannot  proceed,  in  which  case  it  is  proper  to  seek  counsel. 

2.  The  second  article  we  understand  to  be  an  explanation  and  revival  of 
that  duty  engaged  by  our  churches  when  they  give  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship. 

3.  The  third  article  ;  by  "  all  cases  of  scandal,"  we  suppose  such  cases  as 
need  a  council  for  their  determination. 

4.  A  major  part  of  the  elders  we  suppose  necessary ;  as  in  a  particular 
church  the  brethren  cannot  act  without  the  elders,  so  in  a  council  the  mes- 
sengers may  not  make  an  act  of  council  without  the  elders,  or  a  major  part 
of  them. 

5.  "  Shall  see  their  determination,"  &c.,  i.  e.   shall  by  themselves  or  by 
some  of  their  members  deputed   thereunto,  observe  whether  their  counsel 
sought  of  God  in  this  way  be  complied  with  or  refused. 

6.  Contempt  of  counsel,   sought  or  offered  in  the  way  of  God,  must  be 
scandalous  as  a  just  offence,  and  should  be  dealt  with  ;  and  the  clause,  viz  : 
"  The  churches'  are  to  approve  of  such  sentence,"  &c.,  we  understand  as  the 
Platform  expresseth  it,  viz  :    The  churches  being  informed  of  the  council's 
judgment,  and  the   churches  approving  of  said  sentence,  then  non-com- 


322  New   Haven  East  Association. 

munion  to  be  declared.     "Without  the  approbation  of  the  churches  there  can- 
not be  a  non-communion  of  said  churches. 

7.  The  seventh  article  only  provides  for  joining  two  councils  in  weighty, 
difficult,  and  dangerous  cases. 

8.  Churches  may  call  a  council  before  they  proceed  to  censure,  if  they 
see  cause.     But  without  their  allowance,   no  particular  person  may  have  a 
council  before  excommunication. 

9.  That  as  no  member  of  a  council  can  remain  such  for  longer  than  one 
year,  so  the  churches  may  choose  new  messengers  for  every  council  if  they 
see  cause. 

10.  The  tenth  article  directs  with  regard  to  the  calling  a  first  council 
and  adjourning  the  same  not  beyond  a  year,  and  how  further  councils  may 
afterwards  be  called. 

11.  The  eleventh  article  shows  how  persons  concerned  may  be  obliged  to 
attend  with  their  cases  and  evidence  on  a  council. 

12.  The  twelfth  article  is  a  revival  of  our  former  ministers'  meetings  (Asso- 
ciations) for  the  ends  and  good  service  formerly  aimed  at,  wherein  our  peo- 
ple did  rejoice  for  a  season  and  as  we  hope  yet  will. 

13.  The  thirteenth  article  shows  how  a  minister  offending  may  be  pro- 
ceeded against,  till  by  the  council  of  that  Consociation  he  be  reclaimed  or 
removed  from  his  office. 

This  Association  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  state,  and  has  been  the  battle- 
field for  the  discussion  of  some  of  the  most  important  questions  relating  to 
ecclesiastical  order,  theological  doctrines,  ministerial  duty  and  covenant 
obligations  that  have  ever  agitated  the  churches  in  the  state.  Witness  the 
controversies  in  Branford,  New  Haven,  Wallingford,  Cheshire  and  Guilford. 

During  the  Great  Awakening,  Rev.  Philemon  Robbins,  of  Branford, 
preached  by  particular  request  to  a  congregation  of  Baptists  at  Wallingford, 
which  led  to  the  offering  of  a  complaint  against  him,  embracing  several 
charges  of  incorrect  doctrine  and  disorderly  practice,  though  he  was  not  accu- 
sed of  the  violation  of  any  of  the  divine  commands,  or  of  doing  anything 
contrary  to  the  word  of  God.  The  charges  were  sustained,  and  he  was  ex- 
cluded from  the  Consociation  ;  but  the  majority  of  his  church  having  full 
confidence  in  him  as  a  sound,  faithful,  godly  minister,  he  was  not  dismissed, 
and  after  a  few  years  the  controversy  died  away,  and  he  was  at  length  invi- 
ted to  sit  with  the  Consociation  at  an  ordination,  without  objection.  Trum- 
lulVsffi&t.  2,196—233. 

Of  the  difficulty  in  New  Haven  with  regard  to  the  organization  of  the 
North  Church,  see  Dr.  Dutton's  address  in  this  volume,  page  120.  Similar 
troubles  were  experienced  in  Milford,  in  the  formation  of  the  Second  church, 
as  is  related  concerning  it,  in  its  place  in  the  list  of  churches,  infra.  Large 
and  respectable  minorities  were  harassed  and  oppressed  for  many  years  by 
legal  exactions,  not  being  allowed  liberty  of  conscience  and  worship,  and 
being  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  ministers  of  the  First  church  in  each  of 
these  places.  TrumbulVg  Hist.  2,  335—50. 

In  1729,  Rev.  Thomas  Ruggles,  Jr.,  was  ordained  in  Guilford  against  the 
wishes  of  a  large  minority,  who  separated  from  the  church  and  society.  The 


New  Haven  East  Association.  323 

Legislature  interposed  to  effect  a  reconciliation  in  vain.  They  refused  to 
comply  with  resolutions  of  the  Consociation,  and  hence  forty -six  members 
of  the  church  were  suspended.  Repeated  acts  of  the  Assembly,  of  com- 
mittees and  of  councils,  all  failed  to  reconcile  them.  At  length,  after  a  con- 
tention of  four  or  five  years,  with  great  irritations  and  alienations  between 
brethren  and  neighbors,  and  great  expense  of  time  and  money  before  courts, 
general  assemblies  and  councils,  the  wishes  of  the  minority  were  granted, 
and  they  were  allowed  to  have  a  church  and  minister  of  their  own.  Trum- 
bulfsHist.  2,  114—134. 

Rev.  Mr.  Humphreys,  of  Derby,  was  deprived  of  his  seat  in  the  Associa- 
tion in  1747,  for  preaching  to  a  Baptist  society.  Mr.  Timothy  Allen  was  dis- 
missed from  West  H*aven  for  an  unguarded  expression  and  being  active  in  the 
revival  of  1740,  though  he  offered  a  confession  for  his  imprudencies.  In  dis- 
missing him,  his  brethren  uttered  this  ill-natured  speech  in  triumph,  that 
they  had  blown  out  one  "  new  light,"  and  that  they  would  blow  them  all  out. 
The  Association  also  suspended  Rev.  Messrs.  Humphreys  of  Derby,  Leav- 
enworth  of  Waterbury,  and  Todd  of  Plymouth,  for  assisting  in  the  ordina- 
tion of  Rev.  Jonathan  Lee,  in  Salisbury,  because  he  and  the  church  had 
adopted  the  Cambridge  Platform.  TrumbulVs  Hist.  2,  195 — 6. 

At  the  ordination  of  Rev.  James  Dana,  in  Wallingford,  opposition  arose 
against  him  on  account  of  his  religious  sentiments.  The  Consociation  and 
an  ordaining  council  were  assembled  at  the  same  time,  and  he  was  ordained 
against  the  remonstrance  of  the  Consociation.  With  the  advice  of  Hartford 
South,  they  declared  Mr.  Dana  and  his  church  guilty  of  scandalous  con- 
tempt, and  recognized  the  minority  as  the  church.  Rev.  Simon  Waterman 
was  afterwards  ordained  their  pastor.  TrumbulVs  Hist.  2,  480 — 526. 

Action  preliminary  to  the  division  of  the  Association  was  taken  at  Water- 
bury,  September,  1786,  and  the  division  effected  at  Wolcott  (Farmingbury) 
May,  1787.  It  was  then  voted  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Consociation  before 
their  next  meeting  to  effect  a  like  division  in  that  body.  We  have  in  this 
vote  a  recognition  of  the  relation  between  the  Association  and  the  Consocia- 
tion in  the  county  in  conformity  with  the  articles  agreed  upon  at  Saybrook 
in  1708.  The  dividing  line  fixed  upon  was  the  Quinnipiack  river. 

There  was  a  tradition  that  one  reason  why  the  division  of  the  Association 
took  place  at  that  time  was  doctrinal,  and  that  the  movement  for  a  division 
came  from  those  who  favored  the  New  Divinity,  of  which  Edwards  the 
younger,  then  a  pastor  in  New  Haven,  was  the  champion,  who,  with  him, 
would  fall  into  the  Western  District  or  Association.  Some  color  of  truth  is 
given  to  this  tradition  by  the  circumstance  that  Dr.  Trumbull,  of  North 
Haven,  and  one  or  two  others  joined  each  the  other  Association  than  that 
into  which  they  would  fall  by  the  territorial  division.  The  records  of  the 
Association  and  Consociation  were  to  remain  in  the  Eastern  District 

LICENTIATES. 

NAVES.  NAMES. 

1734.  Benajah  Case, 

Samuel  Eaton,  Noah  Merrick, 

Eleazar  Wheelock,  Daniel  Bliss. 


324 


New  Haven  East  Association. 


1735. 

William  Leete,  Jr., 
Mr.  Eaton, 
Solomon  Palmer, 
Andrew  Bartholomew, 
Daniel  Huntington, 
William  Seward. 

1737. 

Joseph  Bellamy, 
Nathan  Birdseye. 

1738. 

John  Bunnell, 
Mark  Leavenworth, 
Moses  Barr. 

1739. 

John  Trumbull, 
Timothy  Judd, 
Gideon  Mills, 
Samuel  Walker, 
Jared  Harrison,. 
Stephen  White. 

1740. 

Chester  Williams,. 
Chauncey  Whittelsey, 
Amos  Munson. 

1742. 

Benjamin  Woodbridge, 
Thomas  C'anfield. 

1743. 
Thomas  Darling. 

1744. 

Edward  Dow, 
Jonathan  Lyman. 

1745. 

Thomas  Arthur, 
Stephen  Johnson, 
Israel  Bunnell, 
Elnathan  Chauncey, 
Aaron  Richards. 

1746. 

John  Hubbard, 
Ichabod  Camp. 

1748. 
Jolm  Richards. 

1759. 

Chandler  Robbins, 
Noah  Williston. 

1760. 

Jesse  Ives, 
Roger  Newton. 

1761. 

Ebenezer  Grosvenor, 
Stephen  Hawley, 
Ammi  Ruhamah  Bobbins, 
Mathew  Merriam. 


NAMES. 

1762. 

Pelatiah  Tingley, 
Albert  Hall, 
Abner  Johnson, 
Daniel  Collins. 

1763. 

William  Southmayd, 
John  Bliss, 
Barrage  Merriam. 

1764. 

Jonathan  Lyman, 
Elisha  Eexford, 
Whitman  Walsh. 

1765. 

David  Rose, 
Timothy  Stone. 

1766 

Thomas  Yale, 
John  Foot, 
Samuel  Munson. 

1769. 

Isaiah  Potter, 
John  Hubbard,  renewed. 

1770. 

David  Brooks, 
Caleb  Hotchkiss. 

1771. 

Punderson  Austin, 
Seth  Sage. 

1772. 

Nathan  Strong, 
John  Lewis. 

1773. 

David  Perry, 
Aaron  Hale. 

1775. 

Achilles  Mansfield, 
Noah  Merwin, 
Abraham  Baldwin. 

1776. 

William  Robinson, 
Nehemiah  Prudden, 
Nathan  Fenn. 

1777. 

Noah  Atwater, 
Aaron  Hall,  renewed. 

1778. 

John  Camp, 
Rozell  Cook, 
John  Avery. 

1779. 
Joseph  Vail. 

1780. 

Joel  Barlow, 
Medad  Roger*, 


New  Haven  East  Association. 


325 


NAMES. 

David  Austin, 
Zcbulon  Ely. 

1781. 

Levi  Lankton, 
Samuel  Nott, 
John  Baructt. 

1782. 

Jason  Atwater, 
Henry  C  banning. 

1783. 

Jonathan  Maltby, 
Stephen  William  Stebbins, 
John  Robinson. 

1784. 

David  Tomlinson, 
Samuel  Goodrich. 

1785. 

Lemuel  Tyler, 
Jedediah  Morse. 

1786. 

"Walter  King, 
Thomas  Holt, 
Joseph  Badger. 

1787. 

William  Stone, 
David  Hale, 
Samuel  Perkins, 
Isaac  Clinton, 
Aaron  Collins. 

1788. 
Caleb  Johnson. 

1789. 

Oliver  Dudley  Cook, 
Isaac  Maltby. 

1790. 
Hezekiah  Goodrich. 

1791. 
Caleb  Johnson. 

1795. 

Roger  Harrison, 
Timothy  Mather  Cooley. 

1797. 
Erastus  Ripley. 

1798. 

Jeremiah  Atwater, 
Archibald  Bassett. 

1799. 
Timothy  Field. 

1801. 
Ebenezer  Grant  Marsh. 


NAMES. 
1803. 
David  D.  Field. 

1804. 

Moses  Stuart, 
Samuel  Merwin, 
Erastus  Scranton, 
William  L.Strong, 
Andrew  Rawson, 
Horace  Holley. 

1807. 

Henry  Frost, 
Nathaniel  Freeman. 

1810. 

Noah  Coe, 
Comfort  Williams, 
Philander  Parmelee. 

1811. 
G.  Garnsey  Brown. 

1812. 

Henry  Sherman,  renewed. 
John  D.  Fowler. 

1814. 
Timothy  Harrison. 

1825. 
Stephen  D.  Ward. 

1826. 
George  Coan. 

1827. 

Milton  Badger, 
Sylvester  Harvey, 
Hiram  P.  Arms, 
Jason  Atwater, 
Xenophon  Betts, 
Sanford  Lawton, 
Zachariah  Mead, 
Stephen  Topliff, 
Martyn  Tapper, 
Asher  H.  Winslow, 
Stiles  Hawley, 
Chester  Birge. 

1828. 

Dyer  Ball, 
George  W.  Perkins. 

1830. 
Dana  Goodsell. 

1831. 

Romulus  Barnes, 
John  F.  Brooks, 
Orin  Cooley, 
Albert  Hale, 


*Voted,  1773,  that  for  the  future  the  examination  of  candidates  shall  be  before  the 
Association,  and  not  by  committees.  The  names  of  some  candidates  examined  by 
committees  are  probably  not  on  record. 


326 


New  Haven  East  Association. 


NAMES. 

Lent  S.  Hough, 
William  Kirby, 
John  B.  Lyman, 
Darius  Mead, 
Seth  Sackett, 
Alanson  Saunders, 
Theophilus  Smith, 
Flavel  Bascom, 
Frederick  W.  Chapman, 
Erastus  Curtiss, 
Samuel  J.  Curtiss, 
John  H.  Eaton, 
Solomon  W.  Edson, 
Joseph  Eldridge, 
Edwin  R.  Gilbert, 
Elisha  Jenney, 
Edwin  Stevens, 
Horace  Woodruff, 
Mason  Grosvenor. 

1838. 

John  T.  Avery, 
Jonathan  Brace, 
Thomas  Bronson, 
Ainasa  Dewey, 
Henry  Eddy, 
Robert  B.  Hall, 
Hiram  Holcomb, 
Elihu  P.  Ingersoll, 
J.  M.  McDonald, 
D  wight  M.  Seward, 
Albert  Smith, 
RollinS.  Stone, 
James  L.  Wright, 
Dorson  E.  Sykes, 
John  0.  Colton, 
Harvey  D.  Sackett, 
James  H.  Carruth, 
John  Mattocks, 
Ashbel  B.  Haile. 

1840. 

Isaac  P.  Langworthy, 
James  Birney. 

1848. 

Theodore  A.  Le«te, 
Lewis  Edwards  Sykes. 

1844. 

Charles  Jerome, 
Samuel  W.  Eaton, 
Joseph  Chandler. 

1848. 

Nathaniel  P.  Bailey, 
W.  Edwin  Catlin, 


Theron  G.  Colton, 
George  A.  Howard, 
William  Mellen, 
Samuel  G.  Willard, 
Edward  W.  Root. 

1850. 

Charles  H.  Bullard, 
Henry  Wickes, 
William  Aitchison, 
A.  Henry  Barnes, 
William  W.  Chapman, 
John  Edmands, 
James  B.  Cleaveland, 
Charles  0.  Reynolds, 
William  B.  Greene, 
Albert  A.  Sturges, 
William  C.  Scofield. 

1851. 
Andrew  T.  Pratt. 

1852. 

Henry  A.  Russell, 
John  C.  Buel, 
William  B.  Clark, 
Elias  B.  Hillard, 
Cordial  Storrs, 
Franklin  W.  Fisk, 
Henry  Blodget, 
William  D.  Sands, 
Jonathan  E.  Barnes, 
Benjamin  Talbot, 
Samuel  Johnson, 
James  M.  B.  Dwight, 
Charles  J.  Hutchins, 
William  C.  Shipman. 

1853. 
Nathaniel  J.  Burton, 

1855. 

Timothy  Dwight, 
John  Elderkin. 

1857. 

Charles  C.  Salter, 
Charles  Brooks, 
Ira  W.  Smith, 
James  Cruikshanks. 

1858. 

James  R.  Bowman, 
William  A.  Bushee, 
John  Edgar, 
Jesse  Winegar  Hough, 
Edward  A.  Smith, 
Pliny  Warner. 


NEW  HAVEN  WEST  ASSOCIATION. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  Association  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr  Gillet, 
of  Farmingbury,  May  31,  1787.  Present,  Messrs.  Leavenworth,  Williston, 
Foot,  Edwards,  Wales,  Gillet,  David  Fuller,  Fowler,  Perry,  and  Martin 
Fuller.  Mr.  Leavenworth  was  moderator,  and  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards  was 
scribe. 

1787,  Mr.  Williston,  with  the  advice  of  the   Association,  went  to  Ver- 
mont to  spend  a  number  of  weeks  in  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  in  laboring 
to  promote  true  religion,  in  such  parts  of  that  state  as  he  might  judge  most 
to  stand  in  need  of  his  labors.     The  next  year  Mr.  Fowler  was  sent  on  a 
similar  mission  ;  and  the  Association  prepared  and  presented  to  the  General 
Association  an  address  "  on  the  subject  of  sending  missionaries  to  the  new 
settlements  in  Vermont  and  other  parts."     In  May,  1788,  the  following  vote 
was  passed: 

"  Voted,  That  the  delegates  from  this  Association  be  instructed  to  use 
their  influence  in  the  General  Association,  that  a  dutiful  petition  be  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Assembly  of  this  state,  praying  that  more  effectual 
means  be  adopted  to  prevent  the  multiplicity  of  divorces,  to  preserve  the 
rights  of  marriage,  and  to  punish  the  violation  of  the  marriage  vow.  Also, 
that  a  petition  against  the  African  slave  trade  be  preferred  to  the  General 
Assembly." 

1788,  September,  voted  to  recommend  to  the  General   Association  the 
adoption  of  measures  for  the  preaching  of  a  sermon  annually  at  Hartford,  at 
the  time  of  the  general  election. 

1789,  May,  Mr.  Gillet  was  appointed   a  missionary  into  the  new  settle- 
ments; Mr.  Williston  the  next  year;  and  in  1796,  an  address  was  presented 
to  the  General  Association  on  the  subject. 

1799,  "The  question,  whether  deacons  are  to  be  ordained,  was  taken 
into  consideration,  and,  after  mature  deliberation,  voted  unanimously  in  the 
negative." 

Measures  were  adopted  for  forming  a  Consociation  in  this  district.  Voted 
to  invite  Dr.  Dwight  to  join  the  Association,  and  also,  with  the  church  in 
Yale  College,  to  come  into  the  proposed  Consociation. 

Voted,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  General  Association, 
"  to  tax  ourselves  fifty  cents  for  the  support  of  delegates  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church." 

The  request  of  the  General  Association,  to  the  particular  Associations,  to 
make  annual  returns  of  the  number  of  communicants  in  their  respective 
churches,  together  with  the  annual  additions  to  their  communion  was 
negatived. 

Voted,  That  a  communication  respecting  the  state  of  religion  in  our 
churches  and  societies  be  a  part  of  associational  business. 


328  New  Haven  West  Association. 

1805.  It  was  unanimously  agreed  in  the  Association  that  the  confessions 
of  church  members  for   public  offenses  should  be  before  the  church  and 
congregation. 

Voted,  That  the  discussion  of  theological  questions  may  be  in  future  a 
part  of  associational  business. 

1806.  It  was  voted  that  the  moderator,  scribe,  preacher,   and  all  appoint- 
ments in  this  Association  be  by  rotation,  extraordinaries  excepted. 

1807.  It  was  voted   "that  the  members  of  this  Association  solicit  their 
respective  churches,  once  at  least  in  each  month,  to  meet  and  unite  with 
them  in  prayer  to  God  for  the  effusion  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  revival  of 
religion  among  our  and  other  churches  and  congregations." 

1808.  The  Association  requested  their  delegates  "  to  recommend  to  the 
General  Association  the  expediency  that  no  foreigner  be  ordained  over  any 
of  our  churches,  until  he  has  preached  one  year  at  least  in  the  place  where 
he  is  to  be  ordained." 

1812.  The  opinions  of  the  Association  were  taken  on  this  question,  "Is 
a  minister,  dismissed  without  a  recommendation,  amenable  to  the  church 
of  his  former  pastoral  care  ?"  A  majority  favored  the  affirmative. 

"  Voted,  That  in  all  future  meetings  of  this  Association,  ardent  spirits 
form  no  part  of  the  entertainment." 

The  records  of  this  Association  from  1814  to  1832  are  lost.  Consequently 
no  report  of  its  doings  or  of  its  licentiates  during  this  period  can  be  given. 

1834.  The  license  of  John  H.  Noyes  was  recalled  on  account  of  his  views 
on  the  subject  of  Christian  perfection. 

1836.  A  special  meeting  was  held  in  the  room  of  Dr.  Taylor,  in  Yale 
College,  to  discuss  the  subjects  of  slavery  and  intemperance. 

1840.  The  Association  made  and  put  upon  their  records  a  declaration  of 
their  doctrinal  sentiments  in  reply  to  a  protest  of  the  Pastoral  Union  against 
certain  doctrinal  errors  alleged  to  be  prevalent  among  the  Congregational 
ministers  and  churches  of  this  state.  The  declaration  was  made  after  a  long 
and  careful  consideration,  and  discussion  of  the  various  matters  embraced  in 
it,  and  was  unanimous. 

1842.  "  Resolved,  That  the  duty  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  every  creature 
ought  to  be  urged  by  all  the  ministers  of  Christ  on  all  the  churches  with 
more  zeal  and  diligence,  and  with  increased  expectation  of  early  and  great 
success." 

1853.  The  Association  was  amicably  divided,  and  the  New  Haven  Central 
Association  was  formed. 

The  meetings  are  on  Tuesday  before  the  first  Wednesday  of  May,  and  on 
Tuesday  after  the  annual  thanksgiving,  at  the  room  of  President  VVoolsey 
in  Yale  College. 


New  Haven   West  Association. 


329 


LICENTIATES, 


1787. 

Levi  Lankton, 
Reuben  Hitchcock. ' 

1788. 

Ebenezer  Fitch, 
Daniel  Crocker, 
Reuben  Morse, 
Puyson  Williston. 

1790. 

David  H.  Williston, 
Aaron  Woodward, 
Dan  Bradley. 

1791. 

Joel  Bradley, 
Giles  Hooker  Cowles, 
William  Brown. 

1792. 

Amos  Bassett, 
Edward  D.  Griffin, 
Benjamin  Wooster, 
Platt  Buffett, 
Joseph  Goffe. 

1794. 
Maltby  Gelston. 

1795. 
Abraham  Ailing. 

1796. 

John  Sherman,  Jr., 
Isaac  Jones,  Jr. 

1798. 
Ira  Hart, 
Lyman  Beecher, 
John  Niles. 

1800. 

Jeremiah  Day,  Jr., 
Timothy  Stone. 

1801. 
Asa  King. 

1800. 

Charles  Atwater, 
Thomas  Ruggles. 

1808. 
Bela  Kellogg. 

1809. 
James  W.  Tucker. 

1810. 
Nathaniel  W.  Taylor. 

1811. 
Asahel  Nettleton. 

1812. 
David  A.  Sherman. 

1813. 
Nathan  S.  Read. 


43 


1832. 
Simeon  North. 

1833. 

Henry  Durant, 
John  Gridley, 
Leverett  Griggs, 
Robert  McEwen, 
William  M.  McLain, 
Seagrove  W.  Magill, 
Henry  N.  Day, 
Alfred  Newton, 
Henry  B.  Camp, 
Oliver  Ellsworth  Daggett, 
William  B.  De  Forest, 
John  N.  Goodhue, 
Charles  T.  Gilbert, 
Henry  A.  Homes, 
Marcus  A.  Jones, 
Jeremiah  Miller, 
John  H.  Noyes, 
Ezekicl  Marsh, 
Peter  Parker, 
Thomas  N.  Wells, 
Benjamin  Lockwood, 

1834. 

John  D,  Baldwin, 
Lewis  Foster, 
Benjamin  B.  Newton, 
William  B.  Lewis, 
James  R.  Davenport, 
David  C.  Comstoek, 
Lyman  H.  Atwater, 
Edward  0.  Dunning, 

1835, 

Samuel  Bemau, 
William  W.  Backus, 
John  B,  Lyman, 
Thomas  Dutton, 
Daniel  H.  Emerson, 
Lorenzo  L.  Laugstroth, 
Philctus  Montague, 
Julius  A.  Reed, 
H.  A.  Sackett, 
Samuel  Lamsoa. 

1836. 

Jeremiah  R.  Barnes, 
Thomas  J.JBradslreet, 
James  A.  Clark, 
Erastus  Colton, 
Henry  B.  Eldred, 
Zerah  K.  Hawley, 
Hezekiah  W.  Osborn, 
Edwin  J.  Sherrill, 


330 


New  Haven   West  Association. 


1836. 

George  Tomlinson, 
S.  B.  Morley. 

1837. 

"William  H.  Adams, 
Oliver  B.  Bidwell, 
William  Ives  Budington, 
Edward  A.  Cumpston, 
George  E.  Day, 
Samuel  W.  S.  Button, 
Benjamin  W.  Dwight, 
Alfred  E.  Ives, 
John  R.  Keep, 
James  D.  Moore, 
George  A.  Oviatt, 
Aaron  Snow, 
Thomas  B.  Stnrges, 
Samnel  H.  Whittelsey, 
George  I.  Wood, 
Thomas.  Wickes, 
William  Wright, 

D.  D.  Chesnut, 
Charles  8.  Sherman. 

1838. 

Aaron  C.  Beach, 
John  Churchill, 
Eli  B.  Clark. 
Dan  C.  Curtis, 
Elbridge  G.  Cutler, 
William  D.  Ely, 
Jonathan  B.  Hubbard, 
Harvey  Hyde, 
Samuel  Moseley, 
Charles  E.  Murdock, 
George  P.  Prndden, 
J.  Addison  Saxton, 
William  B.  Weed, 
Dillon  Williams. 

1840. 

(Mo  D,  Hine, 
L.  Smith  Hobart. 

1841. 

Mathew  Hale  Smith, 
Benjamin  Griswold, 
William  S.  Curtis, 
Samuel  H.  Elliot, 
Chauncey  Goodrich, 

E.  Edwin  Hall, 
Oliver  W.  Mather, 
Amasa  C.  Frissell, 
William  Russell. 

1842. 
Joseph  D.  Hull. 


1843 

Loring  B.  Marsh , 
Martin  Dudley, 
Lavalette  Pen-in, 
George  Timelier. 

1844. 

Samuel  W.  Barnum, 
S.  J.  M.  Merwin. 

1845. 

William  H.  Gilbert, 
Joel  Grant, 
Porter  Le  Conte, 
Alexander  McWhorter, 
George  Richards, 
T.  N.  Benedict, 
Birdsey  G.  Northrop. 

1846. 

J.  Augustus  Benton, 
Mills  B.  Gelston, 
James  H.  Dill, 
James  B.  Gibbs, 
Burdett  Hart, 
Jared  0.  Knapp, 
George  C.  Lucas, 
William  H.  Moore, 
John  Wickes, 
Lewis  Grout. 

1847. 

F.  D.  Avery, 
John  Avery, 
William  Burroughs, 
William  H.  Goodrich, 
Gordon  Hall, 
William  L.  Kingsley, 
William  De  Loss  Love, 
Samuel  D.  Marsh, 
James  R.  Mershou, 
John  D.  Sands, 
George  S.  F.  Savage, 
Robert  P.  Stauton, 
Edward  Sweet, 
Martin  K.  Whittlesey, 
Glen  Wood. 

1848.  \ 

William  S.  Huggins, 
William  J.  Jennings, 
William  T.  Reynolds, 
Daniel  S.  Rodman. 

1849. 
George  E.  Hill. 

1850. 
Thomas  K.  Beecher. 


New  Haven   West  Association.  331 

1851.  1857. 
Joseph  W.  Backus,  Oliver  S.  Taylor. 
Henry  M.  Colton,  1858. 
Josiali  W.  North,  Carrol  Cutler, 
David  Peck,  Horatio  W.  Brown, 
J.  Leonard  Corning,  John  Monteith. 
William  A.  Macy,  William  Hutchison. 
Silas  W.  Robbing,                                                            1859. 
James  L.  Willard,  Solomon  J.  Douglass, 
D.  H.  Thayer.  Wilder  Smith, 

1852.  Fisk  P.  Brewer, 
George  Bent.  James  M.  Whitou. 


NEW  LONDON  ASSOCIATION. 

BY  REV  ABEL  MC  EWEN,  D.  D.,  NEW  LONDON. 

The  records  of  the  Association  of  New  London  county  extend  back  to  the 
year  1750.  An  Association  was  then  instituted,  or  one  was  remodeled  from 
a  previously  existing  Association.  The  new  institution  was  called  "  The 
Eastern  Association  of  New  London  County."  According  to  the  record,  it 
was  established  in  conformity  to  the  Saybrook  Platform  and  the  act  of  As- 
sembly. In  the  year  1789  the  epithet  u  Eastern"  was  dropped,  and  a  constitu- 
tion and  rules  of  order  were  formed  and  adopted  for  the  Association  of  the 
County  of  New  London. 

Its  territory  is  large,  embracing  most  of  the  pastors  and  resident  ministers 
in  the  county.  Occasionally  one  living  on  the  borders  has,  for  convenience, 
attached  himself  to  an  adjacent  Association ;  and  one  living  out  of  the  county 
has,  for  the  same  reason,  belonged  to  this  body.  At  present  three  pastors 
in  Lyme  and  one  in  Westchester  find  it  convenient  to  belong  to  Middlesex 
Association.  A  few  years  past  the  transfer  of  the  town  of  Lebanon  from 
Windham  to  New  London  county,  brought  the  pastors  in  that  town  into  the 
Association  of  their  new  county.  The  Association  has,  within  half  a  cen- 
tury, increased  in  the  number  of  its  members  threefold. 

This  Association  is  favored  with  a  pleasant  harmony  in  sentiment  and 
action. 

A  church  in  Chesterfield,  the  one  in  Long  Society,  (Preston,)  and  the  Third 
church  in  Norwich,  have  become  extinct. 

Some  Separatist  churches  were  formed  in  the  county  seventy  or  eighty 
years  ago,  which  have  now  become  extinct,  or  have  been  merged  in  Congre- 
gational churches. 

The  time  of  the  stated  meeting  of  the  Association  is  the  first  Tuesday  of 
June  annually. 

Every  clerical  Association  in  Connecticut,  that  of  New  London  county  ex- 
cepted,  had,  since  1708,  a  CONSOCIATION  of  churches  connected  with  it.  With 
the  exception  of  two  or  three  churches  on  the  western  line  of  the  county, 
which,  many  years  ago,  connected  themselves  with  a  Consociation  west  of 
them,  and  two  churches  in  Lebanon,  which,  until  a  few  years  past,  belonged 
to  Windham  county,  the  churches  in  this  county  were  never  consociated  un- 
til 1814.  The  pastors  often  proposed  such  a  connection,  but  one  pastor 
who  had,  covertly,  become  a  Unitarian,  and  one  layman,  invariably  met  the 
proposition  with  the  monitory  cry  of  "  hierarchy  ; "  not  understanding,  or 
not  admitting,  that  the  design  and  effect  of  Consociations  are  to  raise  up  a 
barrier  to  protect  the  churches  from  any  hurtful  administration  of  the  minis- 
try over  them,  and  from  the  incursion  of  heresy  from  abroad. 


New  London  Association.  333 

The  two  uncompromising  conservators  of  independency  passed  off  the  stage, 
and,  in  1814,  a  convention  of  pastors  and  lay  delegates  from  the  churches 
was  called,  which  formed  and  adopted  a  constitution  fora  Consociation  of  the 
churches.  All  the  churches,  one  excepted,  then  existing  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Association,  came  cordially  into  the  connection.  Eleven  churches, 
since  that  date,  have  been  instituted  in  the  county,  six  of  which  have  con- 
sociated  themselves  with  the  body ;  five  of  the  eleven  have  not  connected 
themselves  with  the  Consociation,  though  one  of  the  five  has  declared  its  in- 
tention of  doing  it.  One  Separatist  church  of  the  straightest  sect  knocked 
at  the  door  of  the  Consociation  and  was  admitted,  and  afterwards  merged 
itself  in  another  Congregational  church  which  was  already  consociated. 

The  territory  of  the  Consociation  is  large,  embracing  the  whole  county, 
with  the  exception  of  three  churches  in  Lyme  and  the  West  church  in  Col- 
chester, which,  for  convenience,  are  attached  to  Middlesex  Consociation. 
The  pastors  and  churches  are  so  attached  to  each  other  that  hitherto  they 
have  been  unwilling  to  divide. 

This  Consociation  has  a  special  constitution,  embracing  the  substance  of 
the  provisions  in  the  Saybrook  Platform,  with  additional  and  somewhat  dif- 
ferent rules  for  the  introduction  of  ecclesiastical  business.  The  Consociation 
is  a  council  for  the  ordination,  installation,  and  dismission  of  pastors  ;  pro- 
vision being  made,  if  a  smaller  council  be  preferred,  for  calling  only  the  mod- 
erator and  six  other  pastors,  with  delegates  from  their  churches,  in  cases  in- 
volving no  complaint  of  moral  delinquency.  Within  the  forty-five  years  of 
its  existence,  the  Consociation  has  acted  upon  one  complaint  brought 
against  a  pastor,  and  but  one  against  a  church,  which  was  preferred  by  a  sis- 
ter church.  Four  appeals  have  been  tried  from  the  action  of  churches  in 
matters  of  discipline,  in  two  of  which  the  results  of  church  action  were 
confirmed,  and  in  the  other  two  annulled.  Many  years  back,  one  church, 
then  recently  instituted,  withdrew  from  the  Consociation,  and  soon  became 
extinct.  Since  then,  three  churches  have  withdrawn :  one,  because  its  ac- 
tion in  the  excommunicaton  of  two  members  was  disapproved;  one  be- 
cause the  Consociation  did  not,  on  complaint  of  the  church  against  a  sister 
church,  carry  discipline  to  a  satisfactory  length ;  and  one,  because  it  was  re- 
quired to  disavow  its  action  as  disorderly  in  the  admission  of  an  excommuni- 
cated person,  and,  perhaps,  because  a  pastor  elect  preferred  Independency 
to  Consociation. 

In  the  annual  meetings  of  this  body,  reports  on  the  benevolent  enterprises 
of  the  country  are  made,  and  these  topics  are  canvassed  with  deep  interest  and 
great  advantage.  Beside  the  closer  union  and  fellowship  of  the  churches, 
and  the  mutual  aid  which  they  render  each  other,  which  are  benefits  derived 
from  this  Consociation,  it  has  conformed  us  to  the  commonwealth  of  the 
churches  in  the  state.  New  London  county  now  comes  up  and  takes  her 
rank  among  the  tribes  in  the  sisterhood  of  Connecticut. 

The  mass  of  the  churches  in  this  county  prefer  an  ecclesiastical  council 
made  up  of  pastors  and  delegates  from  churches  in  the  vicinity,  to  one  com- 
posed of  members  from  other  places,  and  a  council  statedly  chosen  and  or- 
ganized to  one  gathered  for  every  occasion  ;  and,  as  the  resort  must  some- 


334 


New  London  Association. 


times  be,  to  an  ex  parte  council.  A  mutual  council  for  the  occasion  is  liable, 
when  difficulty  and  excitement  exist,  to  be  chosen  and  to  act  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  partizan  spirit.  A  council  from  abroad  comes  to  a  result,  the  pro- 
visions of  which  very  little  affect  them,  or  religion,  in  their  distant  homes, 
and  for  which  they  feel  little  responsibility.  A  stated  council  of  the  vicinity 
makes  a  result  for  themselves,  under  the  provisions  of  which  they  and  their 
neighbors  must  live,  and  for  the  good  or  evil  consequences  of  this  result 
the  council  is  held  to  a  rigid  and  telling  accountability.  Consociated  churches 
have  a  council  which  they  freely  and  actually  choose,  and  which  they  can 
repudiate  by  withdrawing  from  the  Consociation,  and  to  which  abused 
churches,  pastors,  and  church  members  can  resort  for  redress,  as  Independ- 
ents must  to  occasional  councils.  Regulated  liberty  is  preferred  to  liberty 
more  capricious.  Consociated  churches  confide  in  their  own  mutual  protec- 
tion from  the  sway  of  metropolitan  churches,  and  from  the  domination  of 
that  one-man  power  which  Independency  gives  to  an  aspiring  minister. 

LICENTIATES. 


NAMES. 

Elisha  Fish,  1750 

Isaac  Foster,  1761 

Levi  Hart,  1762 

Ephraim  Woodbridge,  1768 

Charles  Backus,  " 

Andrew  Law,  1766 

Micaiah  Porter, 

Eleazar  Fairbanks, 

Caleb  Alexander,  1778 

William  Patten, 

John  Wilder,  1784 

Aaron  Woolworth,  1785 

Christopher  Page, 

Elijah  Parish,  1786 

Thomas  Andros, 

Hezekiah  Woodruff,  1789 

Asahel  Huntington, 

John  D.  Perkins,  1798 

Elijah  Waterman,  " 

Daniel  Hall,       .  1794 

Eliphalet  Nott,  1795 

Aaron  Cleaveland,  1799 

Asa  Meech, 

Huhbel  Loomis,  1800 

Joshua  Huntington.  1806 

Jason  Allen,  1808 

Nathaniel  Dwight,  1810 

Daniel  Huntington,  1811 

Nathaniel  Hewit,  " 

Dudley  Rossiter, 

Samuel  Phinney, 

John  Ross,  " 

Lavias  Hyde,  1816 

William  Nevins,  1819 

Elijah  Hartshorn,  1820 

Jedediah  L.  Stark.  " 

Beriah  Green,  1821 


NAMES. 

Joseph  Hurlburt,  1822 

Joseph  Ayer,  1823 

Joseph  Whiting,  1826 

Joseph  Tyler,  " 

David  B.  Austin,  1830 

Stephen  Ellis,  Jr.,  " 

Asa  J.  Hinckley,  1832 

Elisha  C.  Jones,  1834 

Joshua  L.  Maynard,  1840 

Cyrus  Brewster,  1841 

Chester  S.  Lyman,  " 

Frederick  T.  Perkins,  " 

L.  Porter, 
Owen  Street, 
John  C.  Avery, 
William  Barns, 
William  P.  Avery, 
Lansing  Porter, 
Wilford  L.  Wilson, 
Edward  Strong, 
Buel  M.  Pearson, 
Giles  M.  Porter, 
Abijah  P.  Marvin, 
Lanson  Gary, 
Zalmon  B.  Burr, 
Gould  C.  Judson,  1842 

Eliphalet  Parker,  " 

Enoch  F.  Burr,  " 

Myron  N.  Morris,  1845 

John  C.  Downer, 
Orrin  F.  Otis,  " 

Daniel  W.  Havens,  1845 

Elijah  B.  Huntington,  " 

James  T.  Hyde,  1850 

Jacob  Eaton,  1856 

William  F.  Arms,  1859 


TOLLAND  ASSOCIATION. 

The  ministers  of  the  county  met  at  Tolland,  August  14,  1789,  and  unani- 
mously "voted  to  form  an  Association  on  the  same  footing  with  sister 
Associations  in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  professing  their  adherence  to  the 
public  formulae  and  the  general  plan  of  ecclesiastical  polity  adopted  in  the 
Saybrook  Platform."  Their  meetings  for  a  time  were  on  the  first  Tuesday 
of  June  and  October,  at  11  o'clock,  A.  M.  ;  and  there  was  a  public  lecture  in 
the  afternoon.  Subsequently  the  meeting  in  October  was  discontinued.  The 
Association  appointed  a  standing  committee,  to  examine  candidates  for  the 
ministry,  and  to  advise  "  vacant  churches"  in  relation  to  the  choice  of  a 
suitable  individual  to  become  pastor.  At  the  organization  of  the  Associa- 
tion, no  constitution  was  framed,  and  no  by-laws  were  adopted  ;  the  members 
feeling  competent  to  determine  whether  they  would  adhere  to  this  or  that 
particular  feature  of  the  platform  or  not,  as  occasion  required.  The  Associ- 
ation has  twice  ordained  Evangelists.  From  its  existence,  it  has  kept  the  rec- 
ords of  all  select  councils  within  its  limits  in  the  same  books  in  which  its 
own  doings  are  contained.  Previous  to  the  forming  of  this  Association  the 
ministers  who  first  constituted  it  belonged  either  to  the  Association  of  Hart- 
ford North,  or  Hartford  South.  Besides  attending  to  necessary  business 
and  holding  a  public  religious  service,  this  Association  shows,  in  its  records, 
that  the  great  objects  of  the  ministry  have  held  a  large  place  in  its  consul- 
tations and  plans  of  doing  good.  Its  action  in  regard  to  missions  "  in  the 
new  settlements ;"  its  care  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  the  Shorter  Cat- 
echism of  Dr.  Watts ;  its  interest  in  having  tracts  published  before  the  for- 
mation of  any  society  for  the  purpose  ;  its  early  efforts  for  the  education  of 
pious  j'oung  men  for  the  ministry  who  needed  aid ;  its  monthly  meetings  for 
prayer,  whenever  there  was  a  decline  of  religious  interest ;  and  the  early  or- 
ganization (1812)  of  a  County  Missionary  Society  to  aid  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions ;  all  manifest  that  the  members  of 
this  Association  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  great  work  entrusted  to 
them  by  the  Lord.  The  Association  has  sometimes  exercised  its  right  in 
determining  the  question,  with  whom  it  would  hold  fellowship ;  but  while 
it  has  done  this,  we  can  see  that  the  respect  it  has  shown  for  ministerial 
character  and  for  a  sincere  faith  in  true  religion,  is  every  way  becoming  the 
ministers  of  Christ.  In  this  particular  their  influence,  we  believe,  has  been 
of  the  right  kind  and  conducive  of  good.  "  The  Ministers'  Meeting,"  which 
was  established  more  than  thirty  years  since,  and,  for  the  greater  part  of 
this  period,  held  once  in  two  months,  has  proved  highly  profitable,  and  was 
never  more  so  than  at  present.  The  minutes  of  the  Association  do  not  show 
that  the  churches  experienced  previous  to  1815,  much  religious  prosperity. 
The  decline  of  religion  was  very  great  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century 
and  the  opening  years  of  the  present.  The  ministers  were  led  more  and 
more  under  this  state  of  things  to  seek  for  a  revival  of  religion,  by  means  of 


336 


Tolland  Association. 


prayer,  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hence,  arose  the  monthly 
meetings  of  the  Association  for  prayer  with  a  "lecture,"  which  were  con- 
tinued for  several  years.  The  blessing  sought  was  found.  The  Spirit  de- 
scended— the  present  era  of  revivals  dawned  upon  these  churches,  while  yet 
many  of  the  fathers  of  the  Association  had  not  fallen  asleep.  This  Associ- 
ation, as  early  as  1824,  took  action  in  favor  of  total  abstinence  from  ardent 
spirits.  It  has  been  very  decided  in  its  testimony  against  slavery,  re- 
garding it  to  be  a  violation  of  the  most  sacred  rights  of  man,  as  deter- 
mined by  reason  and  Scripture.  One  of  the  early  "  Schools  of  the  Proph- 
ets" was  within  the  limits  of  this  Association — that  of  Dr.  Backus,  of  So- 
mers,  who  was  a  "  bright  and  shining  light "  in  the  ministry.  The  pastors  of 
this  Association  are  much  united  in  their  views  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  and  co-operate  very  heartily  in  the  great  responsibilities  and  duties 
of  their  work.  They  have  been  wont  to  use  special  means  for  promoting  the 
great  interests  of  religion,  such  as  seasons  of  special  prayer,  and  conferences 
of  from  two  to  four  churches,  which  have  proved  means  of  much  good. 


LICENTIATES. 


NAME. 

Azel  Backus, 
Freegrace  Kcynolds, 
Alvan  Hyde, 
Salmon  Cone, 
Jesse  Townsend, 
Uri  Tracy, 

Silas  Long  Bingham, 
Titus  Theodore  Barton, 
Asa  Lyon, 
Joseph  Field, 
Marshfield  Steele, 
Seth  Williston, 
Thomas  Snell, 
Robert  Porter, 
Sylvester  Dana. 
Salmon  King, 
John  H.  Church, 
Henry  Davis, 
Josiah  B.  Andrews, 
Vincent  Gould, 
Aina-sa  Jerome, 
Israel  Braynard, 
Ephraim  T.  Woodruff, 
Gideon  Burt,  Jr., 
Humphrey  Moore, 
Jabez  Munscll, 
David  B.  Ripley, 
William  Patrick, 
Caleb  Knight, 
Claudius  Herrick, 


DATE. 
June  1,  1790 


Oct.     5,  1790 
it 

June  7,  1791 


Oct.  4,  1792 
June  4, 1793 
June  3,  1794 
Oct.  7,  1794 

Oct.    3,  1797 
a 

June  5, 1798 
Apr.  10,  1798 

Aug.  7,  1798 
June  4,  1799 


June  2.  1801 


NAME. 
John  Lord, 
Ezekiel  J.  Chapman, 
Isaac  Knapp, 
James  Eells, 
Elihu  Smith, 
William  Boies, 
Henry  Bigelow, 
Ebenezer  Kellogg, 
Hart  Talcott, 
William  B.  Spraguo, 
Ebenezer  Churchill, 
Ambrose  Edson, 
John  Goddard, 
M.  S.  Goodale, 
John  Haven, 
John  C.  Paine, 
Josiah  W.  Turner, 
Anson  T.  Tuttle, 
John  E.  Tyler, 
Hiram  Bell, 
Benjamin  Howe, 
John  A.  McKinstry, 
Isaac  H.  Bassett, 
David  N.  Coburn, 
Charles  Hammond, 
Thomas  C.  P.  Hyde, 
Samuel  R.  Ditnock, 
Joel  T.  Bingham, 
Louis  E.  Charpiot, 


DATE. 

Oct.    6, 1801 
« 

June  1,  1802 
ii 

June  1, 1802 
Oct.  5, 1802 
June_7,  1803 
June  6, 1815 
June  4,  1816 
Aug.  28,  1818 
June  5,  1821 
Sep.  3  1823 
Dec.  28,  1835 


Dec.  28,  1835 
11 

Oct.    9,1838 
Nov.  10,  1840 


June  4,  1844 
June  1, 1852 

Nov.  7,  1854 
June  12, 1855 
June  1,  1858 


WINDHAM  COUNTY  ASSOCIATION. 

At  the  time  when  Saybrook  Platform  was  adopted,  most  of  the  present 
territory  of  Windham  county  was  included  in  New  London  county.  The 
settlements  in  this  quarter  of  the  state  were  comparatively  new  and  feeble, 
having  advanced  very  little  before  the  close  of  the  17th  century.  Such  pro- 
gress did  they  make,  however,  that  in  1723,  the  ministers  in  Franklin,  Lis- 
bon, Plainfield,  and  towns  north,  formed  the  North  Association  of  New  Lon- 
don county.  But  in  1725  the  General  Assembly  erected  the  county  of  Wind- 
ham,  and  in  172(3  the  name  of  this  Association  was  changed  to  Windham  As- 
sociation. 

MEMBERSHIP. — According  to  Saybrook  Platform  every  pastor  of  a  church 
within  the  limits  of  an  Association  was,  of  course,  to  be  a  member  of  it. 
All  the  pastors  in  this  county  (and  only  they)  seem  for  a  time  to  have  been 
members  of  this  Association.  There  appears  to  have  been  no  vote  of  admis- 
sion, with  few  exceptions  in  unusual  cases,  for  seventy  years,  and  in  case  of 
discharge  from  the  pastoral  office,  no  vote  of  dismission  passed  in  this  body. 

DIVISION. — In  October  17'.H),  James  Cogswell,  Josiah  Whitney,  and  An- 
drew Lee.  had  leave  to  form  the  "  Eastern  Association  of  Windham  County," 
and  it  was  voted  that  any  other  member  might  join  them  who  should  signify 
his  purpose  within  one  year.  In  accordance  with  this  vote,  Messrs.  Staples 
Atkins,  and  Putnam  joined  the  three  above  named,  as  also  Messrs.  George 
Leonard,  Luther  Wilson  and  Abiel  Williams,  (of  Dudley,  Mass.,)  who  were 
never  members  of  the  "  Original  Association,"  as  it  came  to  be  called.  There 
was  a  theological  difference  at  the  foundation  of  this  division ;  the  new  Asso- 
ciation inclining  to  Arminianism,  while  the  leading  minds  in  the  "  Original 
Association  "  were  Hopkinsian  in  their  bias.  The  Eastern  Association  was 
represented  for  some  years  in  the  meetings  of  the  General  Association,  but 
withdrew  on  account  of  objections  made  by  the  Original  Association  against 
the  reception  of  new  members  by  it,  an  objection  sustained  by  the  General 
Association  on  the  ground  of  the  fundamental  agreement.  It  finally  became 
extinct  by  the  removal  of  its  younger  members  and  the  death  of  its  fathers. 
The  book  containing  its  records  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Windham  County  As- 
sociation. Since  then  there  have  been  other  proposals  for  a  division  of  the 
Association,  one  of  which  was  voted,  but  finally  abandoned. 

MEKTIXGS. — There  were  originally  three  meetings  in  a  year;  of  late  years 
but  two  ;  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  June  and  November.  On  these  occasions 
there  is  usually  public  worship  with  a  sermon,  besides  more  private  devo- 
tional and  literary  exercises.  Questions  for  advice  are  propounded.  The 
decisions  on  some  of  these  questions  in  the  early  meetings  are  curious 
as  illustrating  the  methods  of  discipline  and  guidance  then  in  vogue. 
Churches  apply  for  recommendation  of  candidates,  pastors  for  solution  of 
cases  of  conscience  or  counsel  in  trouble.  In  later  times  agents  of  benevo- 
lent societies  appear,  asking  approval  and  commendation — resolutions  and 

44 


338  Windham    Association. 

plans  of  effort  are  adopted — the  affairs  of  the  nation  and  the  condition  of  the 
world  are  considered  and  discussed.  The  examination  of  candidates  for  li- 
censure,  or  approbation,  (as  it  was  more  properly  called  at  first,)  was  some- 
times entrusted,  with  other  business,  to  a  committee  ad  interim.  Indeed, 
for  many  years  the  Association  divided  its  members  into  an  eastern  and  a 
western  committee.  Rules  as  to  such  examination  have  been  adopted  at 
various  times,  the  tendency  being  to  greater  stringency  in  the  requisitions. 

1729. — Voted,  that  a  church  member  who  turns  Anabaptist  is  to  be  argued 
and  labored  with  ;  but  if  obstinate,  "  the  minister  is  publicly  to  bear  testi- 
mony against  his  error,  and  declare  the  church  discharged  from  any  partic- 
ular relation  to  him." 

1730. — Confessions  of  public  scandal  should  be  made  before  the  congre- 
gation. 

1730. — Candidates  elect  to  pastoral  offices  are  to  be  called  by  the  modera- 
tor before  the  Association  to  give  satisfaction  of  their  abilities,  &c. 

1744. — Baptism  by  a  Popish  priest  is  not  to  be  held  valid. 

1744. — Voted,  that  a  woman  divorced  from  her  husband  on  account  of  his 
absence  for  three  years  unheard  of,  has  a  lawful  right  to  marry. 

1744. — A  letter  to  the  several  societies  in  Windham  county  on  the  Sepa- 
ratist movement  was  prepared  and  signed  by  the  members. 

1746. — Committee  "to  draw  a  narrative  of  the  affair  of  a  number  of  men 
at  Mansfield,  pretending  to  form  themselves  into  a  church  state  and  to  ordain 
officers." 

1747. — Resolved,  that  baptism  by  unauthorized  persons,  such  as  Sol. 
Paine,  Thomas  Marsh,  &c.,  is  not  valid. 

1748. — Committee  to  represent  the  case  of  Sampson  Occum  to  the  Com- 
missioners of  Indian  Affairs  at  Boston, — he  having  been  ill-treated  and  dis- 
couraged while  teaching  last  winter  at  Mohegan. 

1752. — Committee  to  prepare  a  history  of  the  Episcopal  separation,  in  reply 
to  the  Bishop  of  London. 

1756. — Monthly  hours  of  prayer  agreed  upon,  on  account  of  earthquakes 
and  war. 

1757. — Mr.  Devotion  to  reply  to  the  misrepresentations  of  Willoughby 
and  Morse  in  England,  about  the  support  of  the  clergy  here  and  their  con- 
duct towards  the  Separatists. 

1757. — Consented  that  a  messenger  have  equal  voice  with  pastor  in  council. 

1767. — In  case  of  a  young  man  baptized  by  Solomon  Paine,  recomend- 
ed  re-baptism. 

1778. — Voted,  that  a  minister  dismissed  from  his  charge  is  not  a  member 
without  restriction. 

1778. — Proposed  to  General  Association  to  consider  expediency  of  reprint- 
ing, by  subscription,  books  of  piety,  and  of  forming  societies  for  promoting 
knowledge  and  special  reformation  of  manners. 

1780. — Renewal  of  covenant  recommended. 

A  day  of  fasting  to  be  observed  by  the  Association,  and  an  address  to  the 
people  to  be  distributed. 

1789. — Messrs.  Welch  and  Lyon  missionaries  to  Vermont,  for  seven 
months. 


Windham    Association. 


339 


1799. — Inexpedient,   without  urgent  necessity,   to  travel  on  the  Sabbath 
for  exchange. 

Deacons  to  be  ordained  by  prayer  and  the  laying  on  of  hands. 

Rev.  Israel  Day  voted  a  regular  minister  and  admitted  to  Association,  he 
having  been  ordained  a  pastor  among  the  Separatists. 

1800. — A  volume  of  sermons  proposed. 

1802  — Voted  to  print  1500  copies  of  the  address  of  Westminster  Associa- 
tion on  family  religion. 

1804. — Association  cannot  hold  fellowship  with  one  who  denies  the  Trinity. 
Approved  a  proposal  for  Association  with  delegates. 

1814. — Resolved,  that  belief  in  the  Divine  Trinity  is  a  fundamental  point. 

1827. — Acknowledged  a  donation  of  books  from  Mr.  Phillips. 
Resolved  to  abstain  from  ardent  spirits  at  Association  meetings. 


LICENTIATES. 


NAMES. 

Sctli  Paine, 

Aug.  29,  17-J7 

John  Whiting:, 

Oct.    10,  17-J7 

Eletizur  Wales, 

u 

James  Caulkin, 

Aug.        1730 

Jonathan  Triunble, 

Oct.    13,  1730 

William  Metcalfe, 

" 

Joseph  Lovett, 

N..V.  16,  1731 

Shubael  Conunt, 

May  31,  1734 

Benjamin  Throop, 

Aug.  31,1736 

Abel  Stilus, 

Oct.   12,  1736 

Hobart  Estabrook, 

.May  16,  1738 

Jacob  Baker, 

May  15,  1739 

Seth  Dean, 

Aug.  28,  1739 

Peter  Pratt, 

« 

Thomas  Lewis, 

Oct.    12,  1742 

James  Cogswell, 

May   15,  1744 

William  Throope, 

M 

Nathaniel  Draper, 

Oct.   14,  1746 

Daniel  Welch, 

May  15,  1750 

Joseph  Strong, 

May  21,  1751 

David  Ripley, 

May  19,  1752 

Samuel  Cary, 

Oct.     '.»,  17.V.I 

Caleb  Turner, 

Muy  21,  1760 

Benjamin  Trumble, 

u 

Ephraim  Hide, 

Oct.    13,  1761 

Andrew  Storrs, 

May  18,  1762 

Joseph  Dennison, 

May  15,  1764 

Eleazar  Storrs, 

Oct.     9,  1764 

llezekiah  Ripley, 

u 

Eleazur  Wales, 

May  21,  1765 

Simon  Lane, 

M 

Josiah  Dana, 

u 

Enoch  White, 

May  17,  170s 

Joseph  Howe, 

May  17,  1769 

Joseph  Lyman, 

Oct.   10,  1769 

Joseph  Pope, 

May  19,  1772 

Nehemiah  Williams, 

May  18,  1T73 

NAMES. 

Ainasa  Learned, 
Enoch  Hale, 
Joseph  Strong, 
Ebenezer  Williams, 
Abraham  Fowler, 
Moses  C.  Welch, 
Samuel  Austin, 
Richard  S.  Storrs, 
Stephen  Williams, 
John  Taylor, 
Jonathan  Ellis, 
Solomon  Spalding, 
Hendric  Dow, 
Gordon  Dorrance, 
Daniel  Waldo, 
William  Storrs, 
Dyer  Throop  Hinckley, 
Amos  Wood  worth, 
Timothy  Williams, 
Lathrop  Rockwell, 
Lynde  Huntington, 
Daniel  Dow, 
Joseph  Russell, 
Asa  I. \  m an, 
Aaron  Hovey,  Jr., 
Abiel  Russell, 
Thomas  Williams, 
John  G.  Dorrance, 
Ezra  Stiles  Ely, 
John  W.  Judson, 
John  Hough, 
Richard  Williams, 
HollU  Sampson, 
Nathan  Grosvenor, 
Israel  Ely, 
George  Payson, 
Jasoa  Park, 


Oct.  12,  1773 
Oct.  10,  1775 
May  21,  1776 


Oct.     8,  1782 

Oct.    12,1784 
it 

May    6,  1786 
u 

May  15, 1787 
Oct.  9,  1787 
May  20,  1783 
Oct.  14, 1788 
Oct.  13  1789 

a 

May  18,  1790 

u 

May  15,  1792 


May, 
May, 


1793 
1795 


May,  1799 
May  18,  1802 
Oct.  12,1802 
May  17,  1803 
June  20, 1803 
Dec,  12,  1804 
May  21,  1805 
Oct.  8,  1805 
«< 

May  19, 1809 
Oct.  8, 1811 
Oct.  13,  1812 
May  17,  1615 


340 

NAMES. 

Stephen  Crosby,  Jr., 
Eliakim  Phelps, 
Ludovicus  Bobbins, 
Ebenezcr  Halping, 
William  Potter, 
Aaron  Putnam, 
Archibald  Burgess, 
Charles  Walker, 
Nathaniel  Kingsbury, 
Daniel  G.  Sprague, 
Samuel  Porter  Storrs, 
Nehemiah  Brown, 
David  Metcalf,  Jr., 
George  Marsh, 
John  Storrs, 
George  Shepard, 
Charles  Fitch, 
William  Fuller, 
B  irnabas  Phinney, 
Mason  Grosvenor, 
John  J.  Ciute, 


Windham 

Association. 

NAMES. 

Oct.     4,  1815 

Charles  P.  Grosvenor, 

" 

Orson  Cowles, 

Sept.   3,  1816 

Harvey  Gleason, 

Sept.    2,  1817 

James  M.  Davis, 

Jan.  20,1820 

William  A.  Lamed, 

May  16,  1820 

Andrew  Sharpe, 

May  16,  1821 

David  E.  Goodwin, 

June  18,  1821 

Asa  F.  Clark, 

May  22,  1322 

Thomas  G.  Clark, 

" 

James  C.  Honghton, 

Oct.     7,  1823 

Ezra  Gordon  Johnson, 

May  20,  1823 

Hiram  Day, 

M 

JMt-'lzar  L  arker. 

Sept.   6,  1825 

LiUher  H.  Barber, 

May  17,  1826 

Francis  L.  Fuller, 

May  16,  1827 

Jonas  B.  Clark, 

Oct.     5,  1827 

Henry  0.  Morse, 

11 

Alden  Southworth, 

Oct.     6,  1829 

George  Soule, 

May  19,  1830 

John  R.  Freeman, 

" 

Charles  L.  Aver, 

May,   1831 
Aug.  30,  1831 


Aug.  28,  1833 
Aug.  28,  1839 


June  2,  1841 
Sept.  1,  1841 


Aug.  28,  1844 
Mar.  4,  1846 
June  4,  1850 
Nov.  4,  1852 
1855 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

OK   THE 

CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCHES 

IN 

CONNECTICUT. 


IN  the  preparation  of  these  Historical  Sketches  of  the  Congregational 
Churches  in  Connecticut,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  abbreviate  and  con- 
dense the  reports  which  have  been  provided  for  the  use  of  the  committee. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  every  fact  of  importance  has  been  retained.  It 
will  be  seen  that  frequent  references  are  made  to  Dr.  Sprague's  "Annals," 
and  to  Dr.  Allen's  "  Biographical  Dictionary,"  wherever  those  volumes  fur- 
nish more  elaborate  notices  of  the  lives  of  the  ministers  of  Connecticut  than 
it  was  possible  to  insert  in  this  work.  Dr.  Emerson  Davis's  "  Sketches  of 
the  Ministers  of  New  England,"  which  is  soon  to  be  published,  will  also  un- 
doubtedly give  much  valuable  information.  It  may  be  well,  perhaps,  to  men- 
tion for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  making  inquiries  on  this  subject,  that 
much  may  be  learned  by  consulting  the  American  Quarterly  Register  of  the 
Education  Society,  particularly  the  volume  for  the  year  1832,  pp.  307 — 322  ; 
also  the  lists  of  ministers  in  Trumbull's  History  of  Connecticut,  vol.  i,  pp. 
492 — 494  ;  and  vol.  n.  pp.  527 — 533  ;  and  the  Associational  and  Church 
Manuals. 

It  was  intended  that  the  accounts  of  the  Revivals  of  Religion  in  the  state 
should  be  more  complete  than  has  been  practicable.  For  everything  addi- 
tional respecting  them,  reference  must  be  made  to  the  "Christian  History,'* 
Boston,  1743 — 44.  The  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine,  Hartford,  1800 — 
1814  ;  and  the  Religious  Intelligencer,  New  Haven,  1817 — 1834. 

In  the  following  pages  (h)  designates  a  Home  Missionary;  (f)  a  For- 
eign Missionary ;  (c)  denotes  that  a  minister  received  a  "  call  to  settle," 
which  he  did  not  accept.  The  names  of  Stated  Supplies  are  printed  in 
italics.  Extinct  churches  have  been  designated  by  printing  their  titles  in 
44  Antique  letter." 

THE  CHURCH  is  ABINGTOS,  (IN  POMFRET,)  ORGANIZED  JAIC.  31st,  1753. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

David  Ripley,*  Feb.    1753  1778  Sept.  1786 

Walter  Lyon,  Jafl.    1783  Feb.    1826 


342  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jhitid  B.  Ripley,  1827-28 

Charles  Fitch,  April,  1828  May,    1832  1843 

William  H  Whittemore,  1833-34 

Nathan  S.  Hunt,  Feb.    1834  April,  1845 

Edward  Pratt,  1847-48 

Sylvester  Hine,  1850-51 

H.  B.  Smith,  Jan.    1852 

At  the  organization  of  the  Church  in  Abington,  it  numbered  03  members, 
who  were  dismissed  from  the  Church  in  Pomfret.  Mr.  Lyon  left  several 
hundred  dollars  as  a  fund  to  the  society.  The  Church  has  enjoyed  many 
revivals  of  religion.  As  the  fruits  of  one  in  1858,  thirty-one  were  added. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Dana,  Eleazer  Craft,  Jesse  Goodell,  Asa 
Lyon,  Calvin  Ingalls,  Erastus  Spaulding,  David  B.  Ripley,  Thomas  Williams, 
John  Paine,  Andrew  Sharpe,  William  Grow. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  648.  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ANDOVER,  ORG.  FEB.  14,  1749. 

Samuel  Lockwood,  D.  D  ,*       Feb.     1749  June,  1791 

Royal  Tyler,t  July,  1792  May,  1817 

Augustus  B.  Collins,  Sept.  1818  Oct.   1827 

Alpha  Miller,  June,  1829  June,  1851 

Le-ci  Smith,  April,  1852  April,  1853  1853 

Eliphalet  £irchard,  lie.,  1853  1854  1855 

Samuel  Griswold,  Sept  1854  Sept.  1855 

John  R  Freeman,  June,  1856 

The  Society  was  incorporated  May,  1747.  Dr.  Lockwood  "  was  a  firm  ad- 
vocate of  the  doctrines  of  grace,  and  of  evangelical  purity  in  religion.  He 
fulfilled  the  work  of  the  ministry  with  ability,  zeal  and  faithfulness." 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jesse  TownsendJ,  Silas  L.  Bingham,  William  B 
Sprague,  D.  D.,  Milton  Badger,  D.D.,  Ebenezer  Loomis,  (Bap.,)  Charles  C. 
Townsend,  (Ep.,)  Joel  F.  Bingham. 

*  Sp.  An.],  465,  Allen,    f  Meudon  Assoc.  240.    J  Sp.  An.v4,  572. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ANSONIA,  (IN  DERBY,)  ORG.  APRIL  17,  1850. 
James  R.  Mer»hon,  April,  1850  April,  1851 

Owen  Street,  Sept.   1852  April,  1857 

Alvah  L.  Frisbie,  Mar.    1860 

Permanent  religious  worship  was  commenced  in  the  village  in  the  winter 
of  1849 — 50,  and  the  church  was  organized  with  31  members.  In  1859  the 
number  had  increased  to  158.  The  Home  Missionary  Society  granted  aid 


History  of  the  Churches.  343 

one  year,  and  after  this  the  increase  of  members  and  means  rendered  the 
church  self-sustaining.  The  winter  of  1851  was  marked  by  a  very  ex- 
tensive revival,  adding  44  to  the  church;  another  in  1858,  adding  about 
20  ;  and  other  refreshings  have  been  enjoyed. 


FIRST  CHURCH  IN  ASHFORD,  OKO.  Nov.  26,  1718. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

James  Hale,*  Nov.    1718  1742 

John  Bass,  Sept.    1742  June,  1751  1751 

Timothy  Alien,!  Oct.     1757  Jan.     1764  1806 

James  Messenger,  Feb.    1769  Jan.    1782 

Enoch  Pond,;  Sept.   1789  Aug.  1807 

PhiloJudson,  Sept.    1811  Mar.    1833 

Job  Hall,  Jan.     1834  July,  1837 

Charles  Hyde,  Feb.    1838  June,  1845 

Charles  Peabody,  Jan.     1847  Sept.  1850 

George  Soule,  Jan.     1851  Jan.    1852 

Charles  Chamberlain,  June,  1854  Mar.    1858 

Thomas  Dutton,  May,    1859 

According  to  the  town  records  of  Ashford,  the  church  was  formed  about 
ten  years  after  the  first  inhabitants  came  to  the  place.  The  society  gave  Mr. 
Hall  as  a  salary  at  first  £45,  which  they  increased  to  £60.  They  voted  also 
to  give  him  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  to  build  him  a  house,  and  to  supply 
him  with  fire-wood  during  his  ministry.  The  meeting-house,  somewhat  en- 
larged in  after  years,  served  the  society  from  1716  to  1830.  During  the  pas- 
torate of  Mr.  Bass,  the  church  was  disquieted  on  account  of  his  first  incli- 
ning to,  and  then  adopting  Arminian  sentiments,  which  produced  so  great 
disaffection  as  to  result  in  his  dismission.  Between  several  of  the  early  pas- 
torates, there  were  long  intervals,  during  which,  several  candidates  were  in- 
vited to  become  pastors,  but  because  the  calls  were  not  sufficiently  unani- 
mous, or  for  other  reasons,  they  declined.  The  first  "  revival  of  religion" 
in  Ashford,  was  in  1798-9  ;  fifty-eight  persons  united  with  the  church  as  the 
fruits  of  it.  The  labors  of  Mr.  Judson  and  Mr.  Hyde  were  especially  blest 
with  revivals  ;  eighty-three  being  added  in  1819,  and  ninety-one  in  1838  and 
1845.  The  society  was  never,  perhaps,  weaker  than  it  is  at  present.  For  the 
last  seven  or  eight  years,  it  has  received  aid  from  the  Home  Missionary  Soci- 
ety ;  whereas  it  had  always  before  been  self-sustaining.  The  reasons  for  this 
decline  in  strength  are  emigration,  the  coming  in  of  but  few  religious  families, 
and  the  territory  being  reduced  to  less  than  a  fifth  of  its  original  extent. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Eliphalet  Nott,  D.  D.,  Daniel  Dow,  D.  D.,  John 
Newman  Whipple,  Sylvester  Dana. 

*  Allen,    t  Allen.    ^Mendou  Assoc.  229.  Sp.  An.  2.  370.  Allen. 


344  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  AVON,  (WEST,)  ORG.  Nov.  20,  1751. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DUD. 

Ebenezer  Booge,  Nov.    1751  Feb.    1767 

Rufus  Hawley,*  1769  1826 

Ludovicus  Robbins,  April,  1820  1822 

Harvey  Bushnell,  Jan.    1824  1834 

John  Bartlett,  Oct.     1835  Oct.    1847 

Joel  Grant,  June,  1848  Oct.    1852 

William  S.  Wright,  Feb.    1853 

In  1746,  thirty -one  individuals  presented  a  petition  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, praying  that  they  would  be  pleased  to  grant  them  "  winter  privileges," 
i.  e.  the  right  to  hire  a  minister  to  labor  with  them  four  months  in  a  year, 
from  December  1,  to  March  1,  and  exemption  from  taxes  to  the  society  of 
which  they  were  members,  during  that  period ;  the  petition  was  granted. 
When  three  winters  had  passed,  they  judged  themselves  "ripe  for  being 
a  society  among  themselves,"  which  was  formed  in  1750.  In  1754  their  first 
meeting-house  was  built  amid  the  native  forests,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Farm- 
ington  river,  and  about  two  miles  east  of  the  one  now  standing. 

Mr.  Hawley,  in  preaching,  spoke  from  short  notes,  and  made  use  of  a  con- 
versational style.  Professor  Silliman,  in  his  volume  of  travels,  speaks  of  him 
as  a  patriarchal  teacher,  not  caring  much  for  balanced  nicety  of  phrase,  but 
giving  his  flock  wholesome  food  and  sound  doctrine  in  plain  speech.  His 
prayers  had  that  detail  of  petition,  that  specific  application  both  to  public 
and  private  concerns,  and  that  directness  of  allusion  to  the  momentous  polit- 
ical events  of  the  day,  and  their  apparent  bearing  upon  his  people,  which 
was  common  among  our  ancestors,  and  especially  among  the  first  ministers 
who  brought  with  them  the  fervor  of  the  times,  when  they  emigrated  from 
England." 

Until  the  year  1 830,  when  Avon  became  a  town,  the  parish,  which  was 
part  of  Farmington,  was  called  Northington.  In  1808  a  difficulty  arose  in 
the  society  respecting  the  location  of  a  new  meeting  house.  It  grew  so  seri- 
ous at  length,  that  in  1818,  when  a  vote  was  taken  to  erect  the  house  of 
worship  on  its  present  site,  the  minority  separated  themselves  and  formed  a 
new  society,  East  Avon.  During  the  excitement  on  this  question,  Decem- 
ber, 1817,  the  old  house  took  fire  and  burned  to  the  ground. 

A  signal  religious  awakening  occurred  in  this  parish  in  the  year  1800 ;  as 
a  fruit  of  which  fifty  were  added  to  the  church.  There  were  two  revivals 
under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Bushnell. t 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Aaron  J.  Booge,  Publius  V.  Bogue,  Oswald  L. 
Woodford. 

*  Allen,      t  Evangelical  Mag.  1-102. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BAISKHAMSTED,  OKG.  APRIL  20,  1781. 

OziasEells,  Jan.    1787  May,  1813 

Elihu  Mason,*  Mar.    1814  1817 


History  of  the  Churches.  345 

MINSTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSBD.  DIED. 

Saul  Clark,  Jan.     1819  1829 

William  R.  Gould,  Sept  1832  1838 

Reuben  S.  Hazen,  May,    1843  1849 

Aaron  Gates,  Jan.    1850  April,  1850 

Hugh  Gilson,  1850  1852 

A.  R  Collin*,  1852  1853 

P.  T.  Hawley,  1853  1855 

F.  Norwood,  Jan.    1855  Mar.    1857 

T.  E.  Rourt*,  April,  1858  April,  1859 

Since  Mr.  Hazen's  dismission,  the  church  has  been  in  a  very  divided  and 
broken  condition,  not  having  all  the  time  even  a  stated  supply,  or 
missionary  aid.  There  was  a  revival  in  1840,  which  added  thirty  to  the 
church,  and  another  in  1848.  The  church  needs  sympathy  as  well  as  aid  in 
the  support  of  the  gospel. 

*  Sp.  An.  2,  3. 


The  Second  Church  in  Barkhamsted. 
William  Goodwin,  1849  1850 

Twenty  members  of  the  First  Church  were  dismissed  and  organized  as 
the  Second  Church.  The  division  grew  out  of  difficulties  in  regard  to  the 
location  of  a  new  church  edifice.  They  occupied  a  house,  then  vacant,  of 
another  denomination,  and  were  occasionally  supplied  till  Nov.,  1853,  since 
which,  they  have  had  no  preaching,  and  no  public  worship.  Though  not 
formally  disbanded,  the  church  cannot  be  revived. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BERLIN,  (WORTHINGTON  SOCIETY,)  NOW  SECOND  CHURCH 
IN  BERLIN,  ORO.  FEB.  9,  1775. 

Nathan  Fenn,  May,  1780  April,  1799 

Evans  Johns,*  June,  1802  Feb.    1811  May,   1849 

Samuel  Goodrich,t  May,   1811  Nov.  1834  April,  1835 

Ambrose  Edson,  June,  1831  NOT.   1834  Aug.    1836 

James  M.  McDonald,  April,  1835  Nov.   1837 

Joseph  Whittlesey,  May,  1838  Aug.  1841 

William  W.  Woodworth,          July,  1842  April,  1852 

William  De  Loss  Love,  Oct.    1853  Nov.   1857 

Robert  C.  Learned,  Dec.    1858 

Worthington  Society  was  included  in  Kensington  Society,  Berlin,  until 
1772.  Their  first  meeting-house,  (now  used  as  a  Town  Hall,)  was  opened 
for  worship  Oct.,  1774;  the  present  one,  Feb.,  1851.  The  church,  when 
formed,  was  the  Third  Church  in  Berlin,  but  since  the  separation  of  New 
Britain  from  Berlin,  the  Second.  Mr.  Johns  was  a  native  of  Wales,  educa- 

45 


346  History  of  the  Churches. 

ted  in  England,  where  he  was  some  time  minister  at  Bury  St.  Edmonds, 
Suffolk  ;  he  came  to  America  in  1801.  After  leaving  Berlin,  he  was  pastor 
in  Canandaigua,  X.  Y.,  and  died  aged  eighty-six.  There  have  been  repeated 
revivals  in  this  church,  at  least  in  ten  different  years,  with  marked  and  spe- 
cial interest,  since  1812. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Hosea  Beckley,+  George  Dunham,  Simeon  North, 
Josiah  W.  North,  Andrew  Pratt,  (f.) 

*  Sp.  An.  4,  566.    t  Sp.  An.  1,  512.    Allen.    \  An.  2,  326. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BETHANY,  ORG.  OCT.  12,  1763. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DEED. 

Stephen  Hawley,»  Oct.    1763                                          Aug.    1804 

Isaac  Jones,  June,  1804             Nov.  1806            May,   1850 

Nathaniel  G.  Huntington,         Oct.    1809  Mar.  1823            Feb.    1848 

Abraham  Ailing,  Mar.    1823              Mar.   1827            July    1837 

Tillotson  Babbitt,  Mar.   1826             Mar.  1827 

Ephraim  G.  Swiftj  Jan.   1828             Jan.    1830           Aug.    1858 

R  C.  Baldwin,  1830 

George  Goodyear,  1830-31 

N.  W.  Taylor,  D.  D.,  1831-32 

Jairus  Wilcox,  Nov.  1832             June,  1834            Sept.  1851 

John  B.  Kendall,  Aug.  1834             June,  1836 

Erastus  Colton,  1836 

'William  It.  Adams,  1838 

Saul  ClarTc,  Mar.    1840             Mar.  1842            Dec.  1849 

Cyrus  Brewster,  1842 

George  Thatcher,  1842-43 

D.  B.  Butts,  May,    1843              Jan.  1848 
W.  W.  Belden,  (c)  1848 

Augustus  Smith,  1848 

Fosdick  Harrison,  Mar.  1849             Dec.   1851            Feb.  1858 

Alexander  Leadbetter,  Dec.  1851              Sept.  1854 

E.  W.  Robinson,  May,  1855 

Bethany  was  the  second  church  in  Woodbridge  until  1832.  It  was  a  long 
time  after  first  petitioning,  before  they  could  be  released  to  become  an  eccle- 
siastical society.  Two  very  important  suits,  in  which  decisions  were  made  by 
the  courts  with  regard  to  the  rights  of  societies,  originated  in  Bethany,  with 
regard  to  the  exemption  of  church  funds  from  taxation,  in  182(5 ;  and  re- 
specting the  proper  manner  of  warning  meetings,  and  the  rights  of  annual 
committees,  1832.  See  synopsis  court  decisions,  page  286.  Mr.  Jones  was 
deposed  and  became  an  Episcopalian,  carrying  off  a  large  part  of  the  people  5 
from  that  time  the  church  has  been  small.  Mr.  Kendall  was  also  depo- 
sed at  South  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  shortly  after  his  dismission,  on  complaint  of 
New  Haven  West  Association.  There  have  been  several  seasons  of  special 


History  of  the  Churches.  347 

religious  interest.  This  would  have  long  been  a  missionary  church,  except 
for  the  donations  and  legacies  of  the  fathers.  The  instability  of  frequent 
changes  in  the  ministry  and  the  employment  of  supplies  have  been  unfavorable 
to  its  prosperity.  A  small  house  of  worship,  one  mile  south  of  the  present 
church,  was  used  till  1769;  a  very  large  house  was  then  built  half  a  mile 
south,  which  stood  until  1831,  when  the  third  was  built ;  the  dedication  ser- 
mon was  by  Dr.  N.  W.  Taylor. 

.MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Israel  P.  Warren. 

*  Allen's  Biog.  Diet,    t  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BETHEL,  ORO.  Nov.  25,  1760. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIKD. 

NoahWetmore,  Nov.    1760  Nov.    1784 

John  Ely,  Nov.    1791  June,  1804 

Samuel  Sturges,  April,  1806  Dec.    1811 

John  G.  Lowe,  Jan.     1822  Jan.    1829 

ErastusCole,  Sept.    1830  Sept.  1837 

John  Greenwood,  April,  1838  April,  1842 

James  Knox,  1842 

Lent  8.  Hough,  1846 

Sylvanus  Haight,  Nov.    1846  Feb.    1848 

John  S.  Whittlesey,  Dec.     1849  Jan.    1852 

W.  Nye  Harvey,  May,  1853  June,  1858 

Newell  A  Prince,  April,  1859 

There  are  few  records  before  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Cole.  His  labors,  and 
those  of  Mr.  Greenwood,  were  greatly  blessed.  Mr.  Cole  took  special  pains 
to  preach  the  distinguishing  Calvinistic  doctrines,  as  many  of  the  older  mem- 
bers, well  established  in  the  faith,  gratefully  remember.  About  1840,  dis- 
sensions arose,  which  increased  until  a  final  separation  into  two  feeble 
churches  was  contemplated  ;  but  the  Lord  rebuked  this  spirit,  by  the  burn- 
ing of  their  church  building,  July  21,  1842.  This  brought  them  to  reflec- 
tion, humiliation,  and  the  renewal  of  their  covenant  with  deep  penitence, 
and  there  soon  followed  what  is  known  as  the  great  revival,  as  the  fruit  of 
which  one  hundred  and  nineteen  entered  into  covenant  with  the  church  on 
the  day  of  the  dedication  of  their  new  church  edifice,  June,  1843.  Cost 
$3000;  enlarged  1856,  cost  $3000  more.  Added  to  the  church  in  1858, 
sixty.  The  society  received  aid  from  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  until  the 
great  revival ;  since  then  it  is  self-sustaining,  with  a  great  increase  of  salary, 
and  making  liberal  benevolent  contributions. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Ebenezer  Platt,  Dennis  Platt,  Laurens  P.  Hickok, 
D.  D.,  George  Barnum,  John  S.  Ambler,  Samuel  T.  Seelye,  Julius  H.  Seelye, 
Bennet  F.  Northrop,  Theodore  Benjamin,  Laurens  C.  Seelye. 


348  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHPRCH  IN  BETHLEM,  ORG.  MARCH  27,  1739. 

XISTISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Joseph  Bellamy,  D.  D.,*  1738  1789 

Azel  Backus,  D.  D.,f  1791  1813  1816 

John  Langdon,t  1816  1825  1830 

Benjamin  F.  Stanton,  1825  1829  1843 

Paul  Couch,  1829  1834 

Fosdic  Harrison,  1835  1850  1858 

Aretas  G.  Loomis,  1850  1860 

Bethlem  was  the  eastern  part  of  the  north  purchase  of  Woodbury.  Dr. 
Bellamy  entered  at  large  on  the  church  records  an  account  of  the  revivals 
during  his  ministry.  In  1740-41,  according  to  his  account,  "religion  was 
revived  greatly,  and  nourished  wonderfully.  In  1740  every  man,  woman 
and  child,  above  five  or  six  years  old,  were  under  religious  concern  more  or 
less ;  quarrels  were  ended,  frolics  flung  up,  praying  meetings  began,  and 
matters  of  religion  were  all  the  talk.  This  universal  concern  about  religion 
lasted  about  a  year.  In  its  bight  many  were  seemingly  converted,  but  there 
were  false  comforts  and  experiences  among  the  rest,  which  laid  a  foundation 
for  false  religion  to  rise  and  prevail ;  and  when  that  was  down,  some  fell 
into  a  melancholy  sour  frame  of  spirit,  bordering  on  dispair ;  and  others 
into  carnal  security,  and  the  truly  godly  seemed  to  be  very  few.  And  now 
very  trying  times  follow.  1.  A  number  of  them  who  are  elderly  people,  being 
ambitious,  and  having  a  grudge  at  each  other,  are  continually  fermenting 
contention,  strife  and  division  about  society  affairs.  2.  A  number  of  the 
middle  aged  stand  up  for  false  religion,  and  plead  for  the  Separatists.  3.  A 
number  of  the  younger  sort,  set  themselves  to  set  up  frolicing,  and  serre  the 
flesh ;  true  piety  and  serious  godliness  are  almost  banished."  This  is  a 
summary  of  things  from  1740  to  1750;  and  much  so  has  it  been  in  other 
places.  "  In  the  spring  of  1750  there  was  a  prevailing,  malignant  nervous  fe- 
ver, of  which  thirty  died.  God  sent  his  destroying  angel  and  filled  the 
place  with  the  greatest  distress,  and  in  some  things  a  reformation  followed  ; 
contentions,  Separatism,  and  rude  frolicing  did  not  appear,  and  the  people 
became  in  a  good  measure  peaceable  and  orderly."  Dr.  Backus  was  dismiss- 
ed to  become  President  of  Hamilton  College.  See  Dr.  Bellamy's  Life  and 
Works. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Robert  Crane,  David  Brown,  Moses  Raymond, 
Charles  Prentice,  Benjamin  C.  Meigs,  (f)  Julius  Steel,  Homer  Prentice, 
Frederick  Munson. 

*Spr.  An.  1,  404,  Allen.    Litchfleld  Centen.,  18,  82.     fSp.  An.  2,  281.    Allen.  Litch- 
fleld  Ceaten.  86.    f  Sp.  An.  1,  410,  Allen.    Litchfleld  Conten.,  117. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  BIRMINGHAM,  (IN  DERBY,)  ORG.  FEB.  25,  184G. 
Charles  Dickinson,.  Sept.  1846  April,  1854 

Zachary  Eddy,  Dec.    1856  Feb.     1858 

Charle*  Wiley,  n.o,  Nov.   1858  July,    1859 


History  of  the  Churches.  349 

Fifty-nine  members  from  the  church  in  Derby  were  the  original  members 
of  this  church,  which  increased  during  the  first  year  to  73.  The  church  ed- 
ifice was  enlarged  in  1859  by  the  addition  of  sixteen  feet  to  the  length,  with 
a  recess  of  six  feet  for  the  pulpit.  There  were  two  or  three  seasons  of  re- 
freshing during  Mr.  Dickinson's  pastorate,  which  furnished  many  additions 
to  the  church  ;  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  having  united  with  it  since  its 
organization. 


THE  CHURCH  or  BLACK  ROCK,  IN  FAIRFIELD,  ORG.  SEPT.  11,  1849. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  J.  Jennings,  April,  1850  Oct.     185T 

Marinus  Willett,  May,    1858 

The  church  was  originally  composed  of  twenty-four  members  from  the 
first  church  in  Fairfield,  and  the  South  church  in  Bridgeport ;  increased  in 
eight  years  to  seventy -one. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BLOOMFIELD,  (WINTONBURY,)  ORG.  FEB.  14,  1738. 
Hezekiah  Bissell,  Feb.     1738  Jan.    1783 

Solomon  Walcott,  May,    1786  1790 

William  F.  Miller,  Nov.    1791  1811 

John  Bartlett,  Feb.     1815  '  1831 

AnsellNash,*  Sept.    1831  1835 

Cornelius  B.  Everest,  June,  1836  1840 

William  W.  Backus,  Mar.    1841  1844 

John  Gibbs,  Aug.    1844  Aug.     1845 

Alfred  C.  Raymond,  Dec.     1845  1848 

Francis  Williams,  Dec.    1851  1858 

The  Church  erected  a  house  of  worship  during  the  past  year,  costing  ten 
thousand  dollars.  The  last  revival  was  in  1858,  when  twenty  members 
were  added.  It  is  thought  that  the  Society,  much  more  than  the  Church, 
has  been  the  cause  of  the  frequent  dismission  of  ministers. 

*  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BOJUTON,  ORG.  OCT.  27,  1725. 

Jonathan  Edwards,  (c.)  1722 

Thomas  White,*  Oct.  1725  Feb.    1763 

George  Colton,t  Nov.  1763  June,  1812 

Philander  Parmelee,{  Nov.  1815  Dec.    1822 

Lavius  Hyde,  Dec.  1823  Apr.    1830  April,  1830 

James  Ely,  Sept.  1830  1846 

Lavius  Hyde,  Dec.  1849  Jan.     1860 


350  History  of  the  Churches. 

This  town  began  to  be  settled  in  1717  or  1718.  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards 
preached  during  some  part  of  the  year  1722,  and  received  a  call  to  settle. — 
The  terms  stated  were  £200  settlement,  one  fiftieth  part  of  the  real  estate 
held  by  the  proprietors  of  the  town  ;  £80  annually  after  the  second  year, 
increasing  by  £5  till  it  reached  £100,  and  that  continued  as  the  stated 
salary.  Every  male  inhabitant  over  sixteen  was  to  labor  for  him  in  clear- 
ing his  land,  fencing  it,  cultivating  and  securing  the  crops.  December  10, 
1722,  he  wrote  :  "I  assure  you,  I  have  a  great  esteem  of,  and  affection  to 
the  people  of  your  town,  so  far  as  I  am  acquainted  with  them,  and  should 
count  it  a  smile  of  Providence  upon  me,  if  ever  I  should  be  settled 
amongst  such  a  people,  as  your  Society  seems  at  present,  to  me,  to  be." 
Nov.  11,  1723.  The  following  record  is  entered  in  his  hand  writing  up- 
on the  town  records :  "  Upon  the  terms  that  are  here  recorded,  I  do  consent 
to  be  the  settled  pastor  of  this  town  of  Bolton.  JONATHAN  EDWARDS. 

On  the  following  January,  he  was  performing  the  duties  of  a  Tutor  in 
Yale  College. 

Mr.  White's  successor  made  the  following  record  :  "  He  was  a  sound  or- 
thodox preacher,  though  never  favored  with  any  special  out-pouring  of  the 
Divine  Spirit,  save  what  took  place  soon  after  1740.  He  was  a  friend  of 
peace  and  order.  He  admitted  310  ;  baptized  914. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  528,  Allen.  fSp.  An.  1.  180,  Allen.  JSp.  An.  2.  548.  Allen.  Relig. 
Intel.  7.  780. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BRISTOL,  ORG.  AUGUST  12,  1747. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.                    DISMISSED.                  DIED. 

Samuel  Newell,*  Aug.    1747                                        Feb.    1789 

Giles  H.  Cowles,t  Oct.     1792  May,  1810 

Jonathan  Cone,  May,    1811  Mar.   1828 

Abner  J.  Leavenworth,  Dec.    1829  Sept.  1831 

David  L.  Parmelee,  Feb.    1832  Feb.    1841 

Raymond  H.  Seeley,  July,  1843  Jan.    1849 

William  H.  Goodrich,  Mar.   1850  Oct.    1854 

Leverett  Griggs,  Feb,    1856 

In  October,  1742,  liberty  was  granted  by  the  General  Assembly  for  the  in- 
habitants residing  on  the  lands  now  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  town, 
to  hire  for  six  months,  during  the  winter  season,  annually,  an  orthodox  and 
well  qualified  person  to  preach  among  them.  In  May,  1774,  the  society  was 
incorporated  by  the  name  of  New  Cambridge.  The  ministry  of  Mr.  New- 
ell covered  the  periods  of  the  old  French  and  Revolutionary  wars — periods 
of  much  absorbing  interest ;  yet  his  ministry  seems  to  have  been  blessed 
with  several  seasons  of  spiritual  refreshing.  Mr.  Cowles's  ministry  was  a 
valuable  one.  The  refreshing  showers  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  enjoyed  sev- 
eral times.  The  year  1799  was  a  season  of  great  religious  interest,  and  a 


History  of  the  Churches.  351 

large  number  was  added  to  the  church.  The  first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  Mr. 
Cone's  ministry  were  pleasant  and  profitable — many  were  added  to  the 
church.  The  five  or  six  last  years  of  his  ministry  were  unpleasant  and  con- 
tentious, causing  his  dismission.  In  the  year  1858  ninety-four  were  added 
to  the  church  by  profession. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.     Ira  Hart,  Samuel  Rich,  Asahel  Hooker,  Cyrus  By- 
ington,  (f.)  Swift  Byington. 

*  Allen,     t  Sp.  An.  S.  330. 


TIIE  CHUKCU  ix  BROAD  BROOK,  ORG.  MAY  4,  1851. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

C/i<irfttt  X.  Seymour,  May,    1851  May,  1853 

William  M.  Brichard,  Sept.  1854  Dec.    1858 

The  church  was  formed  with  twenty  members.  It  is  in  a  manufacturing 
village,  with  a  floating  population,  which  renders  it  difficult  to  support  the 
gospel.  A  house  of  public  worship  was  opened  Jan.  1,  1854.  In  1858  there 
was  unusual  interest  in  the  subject  of  religion,  and  ten  were  added  to  the 
church. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  BROOKFIELD,  (NEWBURY,)  ORG.  SEPT.  28,  1757. 
Thomas  Brooks,  Sept.  1757  Sept.  1799 

Erastus  Ripley,*  Mar.    1800  Nov.   1801  Nov.  1843 

Richard  Williams,  June,  1807  April,  1811 

Bela  Kellogg,  Jan.    1813  Oct.    1816  1831 

A.  B.  Hull,  Oct,     1819  Oct.    1820 

Abner  Brundage,  May,  1821  Oct.    1839 

Dan.  C.  Curtiss,  Oct.    1843  Oct.    1855 

Thomas  N.  Benedict,  April,  1859 

There  have  been  several  seasons  of  special  religious  interest  since  1807, 
adding  a  goodly  number  to  the  church.  The  present  neat  and  commodious 
house  of  worship  was  built  in  1 853. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — 0.  S.  St.  John,  Oliver  S.  Taylor. 

*  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BROOKLYN,  (POMFRET,)  ORG.  NOVEMBER  21,  1734. 

Ephraim  Avery,  Sept.  1735  Oct.    1754 

Josiah  Whitney,  D.  D.,*  Feb.    1756  Sept  1824 

Luther  Wilson,  June,  1813  Feb.    1817  (Deposed.) 

Ambrose  Edson,  April,  1824  Dec.    1830            Aug.  1836 

George  J.  Tillotson,  May,    1831  Mar.   1858 


352  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Edward  C.  Miles,  Oct.     1858  Oct.    1859 

C.  N.  Seymour,  Dec.     1859 

Unitarianism  was  introduced  into  Brooklyn,  in  consequence  of  the  settle- 
ment of  Mr.  Luther  Wilson,  as  colleague  pastor  with  Rev.  Dr.  Whitney,  in 
1813.  At  the  time  of  his  ordination  he  was,  by  some  of  the  council,  re- 
garded as  of  somewhat  doubtful  orthodoxy ;  and  he  soon  revealed  himself 
to  be  an  Arian,  and  increasingly  bold  and  decided  in  his  errors.  The  better 
portion  of  the  church  and  society,  after  making  long  continued  efforts  in 
vain  to  get  rid  of  him,  left  the  old  house  of  worship  and  set  up  worship  by 
themselves  in  1817  ;  thus  cutting  themselves  off  from  further  influence  in  the 
old  society  for  the  removing  of  the  offending  pastor.  Had  they  still  more 
patiently  and  perseveringly  continued  with  their  former  associates  in  eccle- 
siastical affairs,  it  is  most  probable,  that  ere  long,  orthodox  preaching  might 
have  been  reinstated,  and  a  Unitarian  church  prevented.  Yet  the  orthodox 
church  steadily  grew  and  prospered;  and  has  been  signally  blessed  with  re- 
vivals ;  six  of  which  were  enjoyed  during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Tillotson, 
which  continued  for  twenty-seven  years.  The  church  has  been  unusually 
liberal  in  the  way  of  contributions  to  benevolent  objects,  in  proportion  to  its 
ability.  With  the  exception  of  the  first  two  years  of  Mr.  Tillotson's  min- 
istry, the  contributions  to  charitable  objects  amounted  to  just  about  as  much 
as  his  aggregate  salary,  ranging  annually  from  about  $450  to  $700. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Brown,  D.  D.,t  William  R.  Weeks,  D.  D.,J 
John  Dorrance,  George  Clark,  Harvey  Hyde,  (h.) 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  529.    Allen,     f  Sp.  An.  2.  589.     J  Sp.  An.  4.  473. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BURLINGTON,  ORG.  JULY  3,  1783. 

Jonathan  Miller,*  Nov.    1783  1831 

Erastus  Clapp,  (Colleague,)      Jan.    1823  Dec.    1828 

Erastus  Scranton,     do.  Jan.     1830  May,  1840 

Lumas  Pease,  1840  Nov.  1841 

James  Noyes,  Aug.    1843  Nov.    1846 

William  Goodwin,  Jan.    1847  1848 

James  L.  Wright,  Mar.    1849  Dec.    1854 

Ata  M.  Train,  Jan.     1855  1856 

Henry  Clark,  Jan.    1857  Nov.   1859 

George  A.  Miller,  Nov.    1859 

The  Church  in  this  place  has  done  much  for  the  evangelization  of  the 
country.  It  has  sent  out  many  excellent  men  to  colonize  the  Western  coun- 
try, and  to  settle  in  neighboring  towns.  Indeed  this  church  has  at  times 
been  almost  depleted  by  emigration.  The  consequence  has  been  that  to  sus- 
tain the  preaching  of  the  gospel  here,  aid  has  been  afforded  by  the  Connec- 
ticut Mi»sionary  Society. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Heman  Humphrey,  D.  D.,  Luther  Humphrey,  Lu- 
cas Hart. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  690.    Allen. 


History  of  the  Churches.  353 

THE  CHURCH  IN  BOZRAH,  ORO.  JAN.  3,  1739. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.                   DD3D . 

Benjamin  Throop,*  Jan.     1739  Sept.  1788 

Jonathan  Murdock,t  Oct.     1786  Jan.     1813 

David  Austin,J  May,    1815  Feb.    1831 

Jared  Andrus,  April,  1831  April,  1832            NOT.    1832 

John  W.  Salter,  Sept.    1832  Mar.    1835 

John  Hyde,  April,  1835  April,  1837                       1849 

Thos.  L.  Shipman,  Oct     1837  May,    1841 

John  W.  Salter,  May,    1841  April,  1842 

William  M.  Birchard,  April,  1842  Oct     1848 

Edward  Eelh,  June,   1849  April,  1850 

William  P.  Avery,  April,  1850  May,    1855 

T.  D.  P.  Stone,  April,  1856  April,  1857 

N.  S.  Hunt,  April,  1858 

Added  to  the  Church  during  the  pastorate  of  the  first  minister,  277 ;  2d, 
46  ;  3d,  208  ;  4th,  44. 

Two  colonies  went  from  this  Church  ;  to  Bozrahville  in  1828,  and  Fitch- 
ville  in  1854. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — David  Smith,  D.  D.,  Charles  Gager,  Simon  Wa- 
terman, Elijah  Huntington,  John  C.  Downer,  (h.)  Elijah  Waterman,  Jede- 
niah  L.  Stark. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  669.  Allen.    fSp.  An.  2.  41.  Allen.    }Sp.  An.  2.  195.   Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  BOZRAHVILLE,   ORG.  APRIL  10,   1828. 

David  Sanford,  1825 

Erastus  Ripley,  1828 

Nathaniel  Minor,  1829  1831 

Mr.  Read,  1831  1832 

Rodolphus  Lamphear,  1832  1834 

Oliver  Brown,  1834  1840 

George  Perkins,  1840  1845 

Stephen  Hayes,  1845  1849 

D.  C.  Sterry,  April,  1851  April,  1852 

George  Cryer,  April,  1852  "      1853 

D.  C.  Sterry,  1 853  "      1855 

J.  C.  Nichols,  April,  1855  "      1856 

Phinea*  Crandall,  April,  1856  Dec.     1856 

George  Cryer,  Jan.     1857  Jan.     1860 

The  village  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Thames  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany in  1825,  by  whose  aid  and  influence  the  interests  of  the  Church  have 
been  greatly  promoted.  Before  the  Church  was  formed,  an  extensive  revi- 
val, under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Sanford,  added  seventy  at  one  time  to  the 

46 


354  History  of  the  Churches. 

Bozrah  Church  ;  and  another  under  Mr.  Minor,  which  commenced  after  the 
sudden  death  of  a  young  woman  who  had  agreed  with  another,  at  the  close 
of  a  solemn  meeting,  that  they  should  need  true  religion  if  they  were  aged, 
or  about  to  die,  but  that  they  did  not  then.  Before  the  week  was  out,  she 
was  giving  a  dying  warning  to  her  family,  not  to  do  as  she  had  done,  and 
she  concluded  by  saying,  ''  I  am  lost."  Revivals  since  have  been  frequent, 
with  considerable  additions.  The  monthly  concert  has  been  generally  held, 
and  a  Sabbath  School  sustained  with  prayer  meetings,  and  liberal  contribu- 
tions made  to  benevolent  objects,  although  the  Church  has  never  had  a 
settled  pastor. 


THE  CHUHCH  IN  BRANFORD,  ORG.   1647. 

MINISTERS,  SETTLED.                  DISMISSED.                     DIED. 

John  Sherman,  1644                       1646                        1685 

Abraham  Pierson,*  1647                       1667                       1678 

John  JBoicers,  1671                        1678 

Samuel  Mather,  1680                      1684 

Samuel  Russell,t  1687                                          June,  1731 

Philemon  Robbing,}:  Feb.     1733                                          Aug.   1781 

Jason  Atwater,  Mar.     1784                                           June,  1794 

Lynde  Huntington,  Oct.     1795                                          Sept.  1804 

Timothy  Phelps  Gillett,  June,   1808 

Jacob  G.  Miller,  Oct.     1859 

The  tract  of  land  constituting  the  town  of  Branford  was  purchased  of  the 
town  of  New  Haven  in  1644,  by  immigrants  from  Wethersfield.  The  set- 
tlers of  New  Haven  had  purchased  it  of  the  Indian  Sachems  in  1638.  The 
Indian  name  was  Totoket.  The  tract  included  North  Branford,  and  most  of 
Northford,  and  constituted  but  one  Ecclesiastical  Society.  The  original 
records  of  the  church,  if  any  existed,  were  carried  away  in  1667.  It  is, 
therefore,  uncertain,  when  and  where  it  was  organized,  but  it  was  certainly 
as  early  as  1647 — when  Mr.  Pierson,  with  part  of  his  church,  came  from 
South  Hampton,  L.  I.  He  removed  with  a  majority  of  the  church,  and  set- 
tled in  Newark,  N.  J.  A  new  church  was  organized  in  Branford  , March  7, 
1688.  A  colony  from  this  church  in  1725,  was  regularly  organized  into  a 
church  in  the  North  Farms,  and  named  the  church  in  North  Branford.  At 
an  early  period,  though  at  different  times,  the  Society  purchased  lands  of 
the  Indians,  and  appropriated  the  rent  of  them  to  the  support  of  the  min- 
istry. The  annual  rent  is  at  present  about  $500. 

Since  the  organization  of  1688,  all  the  pastors  previous  to  the  present  one 
have  died  in  office.  There  have  been  no  dismissals  up  to  the  date  of  Jan- 
uary, 1859.  See  Mr.  Gilletfs  Half  Century  Sermon,  1858,  and  Mr. 
Wood? g  Historical  Discourse,  North  Branford,  1850. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Russell,  Roger  Harrison,§  Chandler  Rob- 


History  of  the  Churches.  355 

bins,  5  Amrai  Robbing,  Levi  Frisbie,1T  Joseph  Barber,  Joel  T.  Benedict,  Sol- 
omon Palmer,  Jared  Harrison,  John  Foot. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  116.  Allen.  Math.  Mag.  1.  357.  tSp.  An.  1.  175,  261.  Allen.  JSp.  An. 
1.  367.  Allen.    §Sp.  An.  2.  531.    |  8p.  An.  1.  578.    t  Sp.  An.  1.  402. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  BRIDGEWATER,  ORO.  1809. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Reuben  Taylor,  Jan.    1810  April,  1815 

F.  Harrison,  1824  1829 

Maltly  Gehton,  1831  1832 

AlbertB.  Camp,  Dec.    1834  May,    1843 

James  Kilbourn,  Aug.   1843  July,  1850 

Dillon  William*,  Sept.  1850  Dec.     1853 

F.  Harriton,  Nov.   1854  Feb.     1858 

The  Society  was  formed  from  a  part  of  New  Milford  in  1803.  The 
church  has  been  favored  with  several  revivals,  one  in  1816,  under  the 
preaching  of  Rev.  Dr.  Nettleton.  Church  edifice  built  in  1807  ;  re-built  in 
1842  ;  again  re-built  in  1855.  From  1824  to  1859,  Mr  Harrison  supplied 
the  pulpit  one  third  of  the  time. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Treat,  Win.  A.  Hawley,  Levi  Smith, 
Isaac  C.  Beach,  Julius  0.  Beardsley,  (f.),  Philo  R.  Hurd. 


THE  FIRST   CHURCH  IN  BRIDGEPORT,  (FORMERLY  CALLED  STRATFIELD,)  ORG, 

JUNE  18,  1695. 


Charles  Chauncey,*  June,  1695  Dec.    1714 

Samuel    Cooke,  July,    1715  "       1747 

LymanHall,  Sept    1749  June,  1751  1791 

Robert  Ross,t  Nov.    1753  Aug.    1799 

Samuel  Blatchford,  D.  o.J:       Nov.    1797  Mar.     1804 

Elijah  Waterman,  Jan.     1806  Oct.     1825 

Franklin  Y.  Vail,  Oct.     1836  July,   1828 

John  Blatchford,§  Mar.    1830  "       1836  April,  1855 

John  Woodbridge,  D.  D.,         June,  1837  Nov.    1838 

John  H.  Hunter,  Mar.    1839  "       1845 

Benjamin  S.  J.  Page,  Feb.    1847  Aug.    1853 

Joseph  H.  Towne,  June,  1854  June,  1858 

Matson  M.  Smith,  Jan.     1859 

Mr.  Chauncey  made  the  following  record  :  "  In  May,  1708,  the  Legislature 
of  Connecticut,  it  will  be  remembered,  passed  an  act  requiring  the  ministers 
and  churches  to  meet  and  form  an  ecclesiastical  constitution.  It  was  or- 
dained and  required,  in  the  word3  of  the  act,  '  that  the  ministers  of  the 


356  History  of   the  Churches. 

several  counties  in  this  government  shall  meet  together  at  their  respective 
county  towns,  with  such  messengers  as  the  churches  to  which  they  belong 
shall  see  cause  to  send  them,  on  the  last  Monday  in  June  next  ;  then  to  con- 
sider and  argue  upon  those  methods  and  rules  for  the  management  of  eccle- 
siastical discipline,  which  by  them  shall  be  judged  agreeable  and  confor- 
mable to  the  word  of  God  ;  and  shall  at  the  same  meeting  appoint  two  of 
their  number  to  be  their  delegates,  who  shall  all  meet  together,  at  Saybrook, 
at  the  next  commencement  to  be  held  there,  when  they  shall  compare  the 
results  of  the  ministers  of  the  several  counties,  and  out  of,  and  from  them 
draw  a  form  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which,  by  two  or  more  persons  del- 
egated by  them,  shall  be  offered  to  this  court  at  their  session,  at  New  Haven, 
in  October  next,  to  be  considered  and  confirmed  by  them.' "  The  action  of  the 
church  is  thus  recorded  :  "  July  27,  1708.  Voted,  on  the  Sabbath,  that 
Leverett  Bennet  or  Ensign  Sherman,  or  both,  be  the  messengers  of  this 
church  at  the  meeting  of  the  elders,  at  Fairfield,  on  ye  28th  of  ye  same 
month,  by  the  appointment  of  the  General  Assembly,  at  Hartford,  in  May 
last,  ye  end  of  which  meeting  of  ye  elders  and  messengers,  is  to  cons,  the 
matter  of  church  discipline,  &c."  The  Act  of  Assembly  adopting  the  Say- 
brook  Platform,  was  passed  in  the  Oct.  following.  Thereupon  Mr.  Chauncey 
records :  "  Feb.  16th,  1708-9, 1  published  the  Confession  of  Faith,  ye  Articles  of 
Union  between  the  United  Presbyterians  and  Congregational  men  in  Eng- 
land, and  also  read  the  regulations  for  church  discipline  agreed  upon  in  this 
colony,  and  confirmed  by  authority  ;  none  among  the  brethren  objecting." 

Copied  in  the  firm,  clear  hand  of  Rev.  Samuel  Cooke,  March  16,  1708-9, 
is  a  record  of  the  formation  of  the  old  Consociation  of  Fairfield  County, 
then  including  the  whole  territory  allotted  forty  years  afterward  to  the 
county  of  Litchfield. 

Art.  2,  says  in  part :  "  That  ye  pastors  met  in  our  Consociation  have 
power,  with  ye  consent  of  the  Messengers  of  our  churches  chosen,  and  at- 
tending, authoritatively,  juridically  and  decisively  to  determine  ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs,  brought  to  their  cognizance,  according  to  the  word  of  God." 

There  is  a  tradition  that  Rev.  George  Whitfield  visited  and  preached  in 
this  parish,  and  that  considerable  religious  interest  followed. 

Subsequent  records  give  account  of  four  revivals  of  religion  which  the 
church  has  enjoyed  in  1815, 1821,  1827,  and  in  1844,  in  common  with  several 
other  churches  in  the  city  ;  and  in  the  great  revival  of  1858,  it  largely  shared. 

Four  houses  for  public  worship  have  been  built  by  this  Society,  in  1695, 
1717,  1807,  and  1850. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Chauncey  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Israel  Chauncey, 
of  Stratford,  and  grandson  of  Rev.  Charles  Chauncey,  second  President  of 
Harvard  College.  Messrs.  Cooke  and  Ross  were  gentlemen  of  great  dignity, 
of  the  old  school,  clad  in  the  ancient  garb  of  hat,  wig,  and  small  clothes, 
and  had  a  commanding  influence  over  the  people.  Dr.  Blatchford  was  af- 
terwards settled  in  Lansingburg,  N.  Y.  The  ministry  of  Mr.  Waterman 
was  attended  with  large  ingatherings  to  the  church.  These  four  issued  sev- 
eral publications. 


History  of  the  Churches.  357 

MINISTERS  RAISED  Up. — Henry  Blatchford,  John  Blatchford,  Peter  Lock- 
wood,  Nathaniel  Bouton,  Epinetus  Platt  Benedict,  Ransom  Hawley  (h.), 
Alanson  Benedict,  Thomas  Tileston  Waterman,  Nathaniel  Wade,  Willis 
Lord,  George  Alexander  Oviatt,  Thomas  Benedict  Sturges,  William  Walter 
Woodworth,  Bronson  B.  Beardsley. 

*Sp.  AU.  1.  114.  Allen,    t  Allen.     JSp.  An.  4.  158.    §Sp.  An.  4. 163. 


THE  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  BRIDGEPORT,  ORG.  JAN.  30,  1830. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Nathaniel  Hewit,  D.  D.  Dec.    1830  Sept.      1853 

Asahel  L.  Brooks,  Jan.    1854  March,  1856 

Benjamin  L.  Swan,  May,   1856  Oct.       1858 

Alexander  B.  Thompson,        Mar.    1859  March,  1859 

Original  members,  117,  dismissed  from  the  First  Church.  Religious  ser- 
vices were  held  temporarily  in  the  High  School  House,  till  November,  1830, 
when  their  house  of  worship  was  opened.  The  church  became  con- 
sociated  Oct.,  1830.  In  Oct.,  1853,  78  members  were  dismissed  by  their 
own  request,  to  form  a  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  Dr.  Hewit  became 
pastor. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Philo  Canfield,  John  R.  Freeman,  Charles  T. 
Prentice,  Willis  Lord,  D.  D.,  George  I.  Wood,  Talmon  C.  Perry,  Samuel  W. 
Phelps,  Nathaniel  Hewit  (Rom.  Cath.) 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CANAAN,  ORG.  MARCH.  1741. 

Elisha  Webster,  Oct.     1740  Oct.       1752 

Daniel  Farrand,*  Aug.  1752  March,  1803 

Charles  Prentice.t  Sept.  1804  May,      1838 

Edward  B.  Emerson,  April,  1841  May,      1843 

Harley  Goodwin,  Nov.    1845  1854       Jan.        1855 

Isaac  De  Voe,  1855  1856 

Henry  Snyder,  May,   1858  April,   1860 

This  Church  and  Society  included  North  Canaan,  till  a  division  was  ef- 
fected in  December,  1769.  About  that  time  the  house  of  worship  was 
moved  nearly  a  mile  from  the  old  site.  It  was  occupied  till  1804,  when  the 
present  house  was  built,  which  has  been  twice  repaired  ;  the  last  time  in 
1859.  This  church  has  enjoyed  repeated  revivals,  adding,  in  six  different 
years,  from  twenty-one  to  fifty-two  members,  and  less  numbers  in  several 
other  years.  In  1858,  the  Consociation  formed  a  church  at  Falls  Village  of 
some  of  its  members  who  had  been  refused  a  dismission,  whereupon  this 
church  felt  so  aggrieved  that  it  left  the  Consociation. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  Up. — Charles  T.  Prentice,  Cyrus  Prindle,  Cyrus   G. 
Prindle,  Robert  Campbell,  Lyman  Prindle. 
*_Sp.  An.  1.  490.  Allen.  Litchfield  Centennial,  88.     t  Allen,  Litchfleld  Centen.  121. 


358 


History  of  the  Churches. 
THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  CANTERBURY,  ORG.  JUNE  13,  1711. 


MINISTERS. 


June,  1711 
Sept  1729 
Dec.  1744 


June, 

May, 

Nov. 


1727 
1741 
1771 


June,  1766 
Jan.  1807 


Sept.  1783 


Feb.  1808 

Aug. 

1809 

Oct.  1812 

May, 

1822 

Nov.  1812 

Dec. 

1826 

Dec.  1827 

April, 

1829 

May,  1830 

Jan. 

1833 

June,  1833 

u 

1837 

Sept.  1837 

April, 

1840 

May,  1842 

May, 

1845 

May,  1845-6 

Dec.  1847 

Nov.  1858 

Mar.  1859 

Mar.   1797     Sept.  1804 


June,  1834 
Feb.  1849 

Nov.    1841 


Samuel  Estabrook, 
John  Wadsworth, 
James  Cogswell,*" 
Nathaniel  Nile*. 
EpJiraim  Judson. 
Samuel  Hopkins, 
Job  Swift, 
Solomon  Morgan,  t 
Daniel  C.  Banks. 
Thaddeus  Fairbanks. 
George  Leonard, 
Asa  Meech, 
Thomas  J.  Murdock,! 
James  R.  Wheelock, 
Dennis  Platt, 
OtisC.  Whiton, 
Charles  J.  Warren, § 
Walter  Clarke, 
Alanson  Alvond, 
Robert  C.  Learned, 
Charles  P.  Grosvenor, 

This  church  was  constituted  with  seven  male  members,  including  the  pas- 
tor, who  had  preached  there  some  years  previous.  Mr.  Estabrook  had 
sons  who  were  pastors  in  Mansfield  and  Willington.  Mr.  Wadsworth  is 
said  to  have  died  in  the  pulpit.  Dr.  Cogswell  was  32  years  pastor  in  Scot- 
land, Conn.,  after  leaving  Canterbury.  Mr.  Morgan,  from  Nazareth  Church, 
Volentown,  went  to  North  Canaan.  Mr.  Meech,  first  a  pastor  in  North 
Bridgewater,  Mass.,  went  to  Hull,  in  Canada,  and  was  in  the  ministry  nearly 
fifty  years.  The  more  zealous  of  the  church  were  not  pleased  with  Dr. 
Cogswell,  and  the  church  was  rent  asunder  at  the  time  of  his  ordination, 
and  a  part,  claiming  to  be  the  majority,  continued  from  this  time  for  many 
years  a  separate  organization.  Cong.  Quarterly,  Oct.  1859,  352-7. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Hobart  Estabrook,  Ebenezer  Fitch,  Samuel  Phin- 
ney  (Ep.),  Moses  Bradford,  Ebenezer  Bradford,  Amzi  Lewis,  William  Brad- 
ford, John  Cleaveland,  Ebenezer  Cleaveland,  Daniel  Adams,  Nathan  Waldo, 
Jr.||  Parker  Adams  (Ep.),  John  Bacon,1T  John  H.  Stevens,**  E.  R.  Johnson, 
Luther  Clark,  Daniel  C.  Frost,  Asa  F.  Clark,  Cornelius  Adams,  John  Hough, 
J.  S.  Pattengill,  Pattengill. 


*Sp  An.  1,  445.  Allen.    fSp.  An.   2.  526.  Allen,    I  Sp.  An.   2.  358.    §  Mendou 
Assoc.  182.    |  Mendon.  Assoc.  275.     If  Sp.  An.  1.  598.    **  Sp.  An,  1.  686.  Allen. 


History  of  the  Churches.  359 

The    North   Church  in  Canterbury,  Separated  Dec.   1744." 

MINISTERS.  BETTLJED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Solomon  Payne,  Sept    1746  Oct.     1754 

Joseph  Marshall,  April,  1759  Aug.     1768          Feb.    1813 

William  Bradford,  Mar.    1808 

The  opponents  of  Dr.  Cogswell  at  his  settlement  over  the  first  church, 
became  the  first  Separate  church  in  Connecticut.  They  claimed  to  be  the 
majority,  retained  the  records  and  communion  service,  and  always  professed 
themselves  the  original  church.  About  1782,  this  church  was  re-orga- 
nized, and  its  house  of  worship,  which  stood  a  little  west  of  "  The  Green," 
was  removed  and  set  up  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  where  it  stood  till 
about  1853.  The  church,  under  its  latter  organization,  was  known  as  the 
church  in  the  North  Society,  and  was  received  into  the  communion  of  the 
regular  Congregational  churches.  It  had  some  other  preachers,  whose 
names  are  not  at  hand  ;  but  it  became  virtually  extinct  before  1831. 
*  See  Canterbury  Separate  Church,  p.  253. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CANTON  CENTER,  OKG.  MAY,  1750. 

Evander  Morrison,  May,    1750            April,   1751 

Gideon  Mills,  J759                                                       1772 

Seth  Sage,  1774                         1778 

Abraham  Fowler*  1780                         1783                     1815 

Edmund  Mills,t  1783                         1784 

Jeremiah  Hallock,!  Oct.     1785                                           June,  1826 

Jairus  Burt,  Dec.    1826                                           Jan.    1857 

Warren  C.  Fiske,  Feb.     1858 

The  first  meeting  house,  built  in  1763,  was  occupied  fifty-one  years.  A 
second  was  then  erected,  which  has  been  remodeled,  and  is  now  in  use.  Af- 
ter the  dismission  of  Rev.  Mr.  Sage,  the  church  was  in  a  broken  state — the 
records  of  the  church  were  lost — there  was  not  even  a  list  of  the  church 
members  to  be  found.  Soon  after  Mr.  Mills  commenced  his  labors,  a  revi- 
val of  religion  commenced,  and  progressed  with  great  power,  and  many 
were  converted.  It  continued  for  nearly  two  years.  Before  this  revival, 
the'church  had  tried  to  exist  under  what  was  called  the  "Half-way  Cove- 
nant System."  But  after  the  revival  commenced,  they  voted  to  abandon 
that,  and  adopted  a  covenant  purely  orthodox,  and  requiring  credible  evi- 
dence of  personal  piety  as  requisite  for  admission  to  church  membership.  In 
1798,  there  was  a  powerful  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  place,  and  many 
were  added  to  the  church  ;  also  in  1821,  18J7,  1831,  and  1858. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Hector  Humphrey,  Chester  Humphrey,  Sidney 
Mills,  Levinette  Spencer,  Luther  H.  Barber. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  230.    t  Sp.  An.  1.  696.     \  Sp.  An.  2.  229.  Allen.  Memoir,  by  Eev.  Cyrus 
Yale.      Litchfield  Centen,114. 


360  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  CENTERBROOK,  IN  ESSEX  (PANTAPANG),  ORG.  1725. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Abraham  Nott,*  Nov.    1725  Jan.    1756 

Stephen  Holmes,  Nov.     1757  Sept.   1773 

Benjamin  Dunning,  May    1775  May.   1785 

Richard  Ely,t  Jan.     1786  Aug.    1814 

Aaron  Hovey,  Sept.  1804  Sept   1843 

Joseph  D.  Hull,  Jan.     1844  Oct.       1848 

John  H.  Pettingill,  April,  1849  Oct.       1852 

Joseph  W.  Sessions,  Dec.     1852  April,    1854 

Elijah  D.  Murphy,  Oct.     1854  Dec.       1855 

Henry  K.  Hoisington,  April,  1857  May,    1858 

John  G.  Baird,  June,   1859 

The  Society  was  incorporated  as  the  Second  Ecclesiastical  Society  of 
Saybrook  in  1722,  and  then  included  the  present  towns  of  Saybrook,  Essex 
and  Chester.  The  early  records  were  lost  about  1756,  by  the  burning  of 
the  house  where  they  were  kept.  Mr.  Ely  received  to  the  church  104  ;  Mr. 
Hovey  403.  There  were  revivals  in  1791-2,  and  in  several  different  years 
since,  adding  90,  71,  50,  38,  22,  20,  in  a  year.  In  1834,  42  were  dismissed 
to  form  the  church  in  Deep  River.  In  1852,  62  were  dismissed  to  form  a 
church  in  Essex.  Besides  these  offshoots,  five  churches  of  other  denomina- 
tions have  been  formed  within  the  original  bounds  of  the  Society.  The 
present  is  the  second  house  of  worship,  built  in  1789,  and  remodeled  in  1839. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Nott,  D.  D.,  Edward  Bull,  Horace  S. 
Pratt,  Nathaniel  A.  Pratt,  Handel  G.  Nott,  (Bap.,)  Aaron  Snow,  Augustus 

Pratt,  Richard  B.  Bull. 

*  Allen,    f  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CENTRAL  VILLAGE  (PLAINFIELD,)  ORG.  APRIL  15,  1846. 

Jared  0.  Knapp,  Sept  1846  Nov.      1850 

Nathaniel  A.  Hyde,  Nov.    1852  March,  1853 

James  Bates,  Jan.    1853  July.     1855 

Wm.  Elliott  Bassett,  Oct.     1856  April,   1859 

George  Hall,  Nov.    1859 

This  church  was  organized  with  forty-six  members,  in  the  North  part  of 
the  township,  as  the  old  church  in  Plainfield  was  too  remote  for  the  people 
to  attend  worship  in  it.  One  hundred  and  nine  members  have  since  been 
added.  The  present  number  is  one  hundred  and  five.  There  have  been 
two  or  three  seasons  of  marked  religious  interest. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CHAPLAIN,  ORG.  MAY  31,  1810. 
David  Avery*  June,  1810  1817          Sept.  1818 


History  of  the  Churches.  361 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  IH9MI  DIED. 

Jared  Andrus,  Dec.     1820  May,     1830  Nov.    1832 

LcntS.  Hough,  Aug.    1831  Dec.      1836 

Erastus  Dickinson,  Oct.     1837  Jan.      1849 

Merrick  Knight,  May,    1850  Dec.      1852 

John  R.  Freeman,  April,  1853  May,     1855 

Joseph  W.  Backus,  Jan.     1856  Dec.      1857 

Francis  Williams,  Feb.    1858 

Benjamin  Chaplin,  Esq.,  a  member  of  the  church  in  South  Mansfield,  of- 
fered a  certain  amount  of  property,  as  a  ministerial  fund,  for  a  new  church 
and  society,  to  be  composed  of  portions  of  Mansfield,  Ashford,  Hampton, 
and  Windham,  provided  such  a  church  should  be  formed,  and  the  gospel  be 
preached  at  or  near  a  given  spot,  within  a  limited  time.  The  conditions 
prescribed  by  Mr.  Chaplin  were  complied  with,  and  thus  the  church -origi- 
nated. After  a  time  the  town  was  named  Chaplin  in  honor  of  their  benefac- 
tor. The  church  has  always  been  self-supporting,  and  has  enjoyed  a  good  de- 
gree of  prosperity,  having  been  blessed  with  repeated  revivals. 
*  History  Mendon  Assoc.,  p.  124. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CHESHIRE,  OKG.  DEC.  9TH,  1724. 

Samuel  Hall,*  Dec.    1724                                          Feb.    1776 

JohnFoot,t  Mar.    1767                                          Aug.   1813 

Humphrey  H.  Perrine,  June,  1813  April,  1816 

Jeremiah  Atwater,  D.  D.,t    April,  1816  July,   1817          July,   1858 

M.  Kellogg,  Nov.    1818  Nov.    1819 

Roger  Hitchcock,  Sept.  1820                                          Jan.    1823 

Luke  Wood,  Dec.    1824                         1826 

Joseph  Whiting,  Oct.     1827  Dec.     1836 

Erastus  Colton,  Jan.    1838  July,    1843 

Daniel  March,  April,  1845  Nov.     1848 

Daniel  S.  Rodman,  Oct.      1849  Dec.     1854 

C.  W.  Clapp  May,   1855  May,    1857 

David  Root,  Oct.    1857  April,  1859 

J.  S.  C.  Abbott,  April,  1860 

Cheshire  was  originally  a  part  of  Wallingford.  The  first  settlement  took 
place  in  1719.  The  first  meeting  house  was  built  in  1724  ;  the  second  in 
1 738,  on  the  public  Green  ;  the  present  one  in  1826.  Mr.  Hall  received 
to  the  church  670,  baptized  2013,  buried  626;  Mr.  Foot,  received  into  the 
church  603,  baptized  1767,  buried  1109;  Mr.  Whiting  received  into  the 
church  241,  baptized  165  ;  Mr.  Colton  received  into  the  church  133,  baptized 
61.  Mr.  Hitchcock  had  been  a  deacon  of  the  church,  and  stipulated  that 
one-fifth  of  his  salary  of  $500  should  be  reserved  by  the  Society  annually 
and  put  at  interest  for  the  future  support  of  the  ministry.  He  was  taken  sick 
one  year  after  his  settlement,  and  was  never  afterwards  able  to  preach.  Calls 

47 


362  History  of  the  Churches. 

were  extended  (not  accepted)  to  Revs.  John  Marsh,  in  1817,  Cornelius  Tut- 
hill,  in  1818,  Handel  Nott,  in  1826,  Judson  A.  Root,  in  1827,  Dwight  M. 
Seward,  in  1842.  There  was  a  continuous  revival  under  Mr.  Whiting's 
ministry.  Extensive  revivals  also  in  1838  and  1858,  which  added  88  and  104 
to  the  church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Reuben  Moss,    Reuben  Hitchcock,  Roger  Hitch- 
cock, Sherlock  Bristol,  Asahel  A.  Stevens,  Abraham  Beach,  D.  D.  §  (Ep.) 
*  Sjf.  An.  287.  Allen,    t  Allen.  %  Cong.  Year  Book,  1859,  p.  118.    §  Alien. 


THE  CHUKCH  IN  CHESTER,  ORG.  SEPT.  1742. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jared  Harrison,  Sept    1742  1751 

Simeon  Stoddard,  Oct.     1759  Oct.     1765 

Elijah  Mason,  May,    1767  Feb.    1770 

Robert  Silliman,  Jan.     1772  April,  1781 

Samuel  Mills,  Oct.    1786  Feb.    1814 

Nehemiah  B.  Beardsley,          Jan.    1816  Feb.    1822 

William  Case,  Sept.  1824  Mar.    1835  1857 

Samuel  T.  Mills,  July,  1835  April,  1838  1853 

Edward  Peterson,  Sept.  1838  Oct.     1839  1856 

Amos  S.  Chesebrough,  Dec.    1841  Jan.    1853 

Edgar  J.  Doolittle,  April,  1853  April,  1859 

William  S.  Wright,  June,  1859 

Chester  Parish,  formerly  called  Patequonck,  was  set  off  from  Petapaug,  a 
parish  of  Saybrook  in  1740.  The  church,  though  small  and  weak  in  its  be- 
ginning, has  (Jan.  1859)  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  fifty,  a  good 
church  edifice  erected  in  1846,  and  a  parsonage  built  in  1854.  Its  ministry 
has  generally  been  devoted,  able  and  efficient ;  it  has  enjoyed  occasional  re- 
freshings from  on  high  by  which  it  has  been  enlarged  both  in  number  and  in 
graces. — EC.  Mag.  5,  109. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jonathan  Silliman,  Samuel  T.  Mills,  William  Ely, 
John  Mitchell,  William  Mitchell,  William  Baldwin. 


The  Church  in  Chesterfield,  (in  Montville,)  Org.  May  27,  1824. 
Nathaniel  Miner,  Oct.    1826  July,   1829 

The  Society  of  Chesterfield  lies  in  the  towns  of  Lyme,  Salem  and  Montville. 
"Soon  after  1758,  the  Chesterfield  people  made  an  attempt  to  found  a  Con- 
gregational Church."  It  cannot  now  be  determined  when  the  society  was 
constituted  ;  it  took  the  designation  of  "  The  Ecclesiastical  Presbyterian  Es- 
tablishment of  Chesterfield  Society."  Land  for  the  site  of  a  meeting-house, 
and  for  a  burial  ground  adjoining,  was  given  to  the  society  by  Jonathan  Lat- 
timer,  in  1773,  at  which  time  it  is  probable  the  meeting-house  was  built  and 


History  of  the  Churches.  363 

opened  for  service.  Whether  there  was  a  church  regularly  constituted,  and 
connected  with  this  society  at  so  early  a  date,  is  now  a  matter  of  great  un- 
certainty. Rev.  David  Austin,  Dr.  Lyman,  and  the  ministers  of  Montville 
occasionally  preached  here  ;  but  the  pulpit  was  mostly  occupied  by  Meth- 
odists and  Baptists.  The  old  meeting-house  being  in  a  shattered  condition 
and  hardly  fit  for  public  worship,  in  1824  the  people  resolved  to  take  it 
down,  and  erect  a  new  one  about  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  church. 
Mr.  Miner  was  dismissed  solely  because  of  the  inability  of  the  people  to 
raise  his  salary.  The  church  has  never  been  formally  disbanded,  but  is  vir- 
tually extinct.  It  was  aided  part  of  the  time,  between  1816  and  1833,  by 
the  Home  Missionary  Society. — Eel.  Intel.  16,  280. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CLINTON,  ORG.  1667. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Woodbridge,*  1667  1679  1690 

Abraham  Pierson,t  1694  Mar.    1707 

Jared  Elliot,!  Oct.     1709  April,  1763 

Eliphalet  Huntington,  Jan.    1764  Feb.    1777 

Achilles  Mansfield,  J  Jan.    1779  July,  1814 

Hart  Talcott,^  June,  1817  Jan.    1824  Mar.    1836 

Peter  Crocker,  1826  1830 

Luke  Wood,  Oct.    1831  Mar.    1834  Aug.  1851 

Lewis  Foster,  Dec.    1834  Oct.    1839 

Orlo  D.  Hine,  April,1841  Oct.     1842 

Enoch  S.  Huntington,  May,  1843  Mar.    1850 

James  D.  Moore,  Juljj  1850 

"Approbation  and  encouragement"  to  organize  the  church  were  given  by 
the  "  General  Assembly"  in  Hartford,  in  October,  1667,  upon  petition  of 
Rev.  John  Woodbridge  and  others.  The  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  second 
pastor  of  this  church  was  the  first  Rector  of  Yale  College,  and  for  several 
years  instructed  the  students  in  his  house  in  Killingworth,  now  Clinton. 
The  church  in  Killingworth  that  now  is,  branched  from  this  church  early  in 
the  last  century. 

*  Allen.     fSp.  An.  1,174.  Allen.    JSp.  An.  1, 176,  270.  Allen.    |  Sp.  An.  2,  321. 
Allen.    «;  Litchfield  Centen.  119. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  COLEBROOK,  ORG.  1795. 

Jonathan  Edwards,  D.  D.,*  Dec.    1795                      1799            Aug.   1801 

Chauncey  Lee,  D.  o.,t  Feb.    1800  Jan.     1828            Nov.    1842 

Azariah  Clark,  Mar.    1830                                           Oct.     1832 

Edward  R.  Tyler,{  Mar.   1833  June,  1836            Sept.   1848 

Alfred  E.  Ives,  Sept   1838  May,  1848 

Archibald  Geikie,  1854 


364  History  of  the  Churches. 

The  date  of  the  first  settlement  of  Colebrook  is  1762 ;  the  date  of  the  incor- 
poration of  the  town  is  1779.  The  people  constantly  assembled  on  the  sab- 
bath, and  as  far  as  they  had  opportunity  and  means,  had  preaching,  before  the 
church  was  formed.  In  the  summer  of  1783,  God  was  pleased  to  visit  them 
with  the  special  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  also  in  1799  they  shared  in  the 
blessing  which  came  down  so  copiously  upon  all  the  churches  in  the  state,  and 
twenty-six  souls  were  added  to  their  number.  The  church  enjoyed  seasons 
of  refreshing  in  1806,  in  1813,  and  most  extensively  in  1815,  when  more  than 
one  hundred  were  added  to  their  fellowship ;  also  in  1858.  Many  circum- 
stances, however,  had  tended  to  weaken  the  church,  especially  in  later  years, 
when  the  irregularity  of  supply,  and  the  absence  of  a  settled  pastor,  loosen- 
ed its  hold  upon  the  people,  and  engendered  an  indifference  to  gospel  ordi- 
nances. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Chauncey  G.  Lee,  Charles  Rockwell,  Henry 
Cowles,  John  P.  Cowles,  Joel  Grant,  William  H.  Gilbert,  Rufus  Babcock,  D.  D. 
(Bapt.) 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  653  Allen.    Litchfield  Cent«n.  93.    t  Sp.  An.  2.  288,  Allen.    JNew  Eng- 

lander,  6,  603. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  COLCHESTER,  ORG.  DECEMBER  20,  1703. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Bulkley,*  Dec.    1703  June,  1731 

Ephraim  Little,  t  Sept.    1732  June,  1787 

Salmon  Cone.J  Feb.    1792  Aug.   1830  Mar.    1834 

Lyman  Strong,  Aug.    1830  June,  1835 

Joel  R.  Arnold,  June,  1836  July,  1849 

Erastus  Dickinson,  Oct.     1851  Sept.  1855 

Lucius  Curtis,  May,    1856 

In  a  paper  submitted  by  the  church  to  Mr.  Cone  for  his  assent,  as  a  con- 
dition of  his  settlement,  it  is  stated  that  the  half-way  covenant,  (so  called,) 
had  been  a  standing  regulation  of  the  church  from  the  time  of  its  organiza- 
tion, but  during  his  ministry,  it  went  out  of  use,  without,  it  would  appear, 
any  formal  action  of  the  church  on  the  subject.  The  following  anecdote  is  giv- 
en on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Cone :  While  the  society  was  holding  their  meeting 
to  vote  on  the  question  of  his  settlement,  and  the  members  of  the  chur  ch  were 
assembled  by  themselves  in  one  of  the  pews,  to  act  on  the  same  question,  a 
member  of  the  society,  casting  his  eyes  toward  the  little  company,  enquired 
whether  the  same  number  of  persons  could  not  be  picked  from  among  them, 
equal  in  all  respects  to  those  church  members  ?  A  venerable  member  of  the 
society  by  the  name  of  Wright  made  the  laconic  reply,  "  You  need  not  pick." 
To  so  low  a  state  was  the  church  reduced  in  point  of  numbers  and  standing. 
Between  the  time  of  Mr.  Little's  death,  and  Mr.  Cone's  ordination,  the  pul- 
pit was  supplied  by  no  less  than  fifteen  candidates.  There  were  three  revi- 
vals during  Mr.  Cone's  ministry,  the  most  considerable  of  which  was  in  the 
winter  of  1823-24.  There  were  considerable  additions  to  the  church  dur- 
ing the  ministry  of  Mr.  Strong,  but  the  largest  number  received  into  the 


History  of  the  Churches.  365 

church  in  any  one  year,  was  in  1839,  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Arnold. 
There  have  been  three  meeting-houses  built  by  this  society,  the  second  of 
which  was  finished  in  1771,  at  which  time  it  was  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
state.  It  stood  just  seventy  years,  and  then  gave  place  to  the  present  struc- 
ture, much  to  the  displeasure  of  some  of  the  old  inhabitants. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Noah  Welles,  D.  D.,  Jeremiah  Day,  Thomas  Niles, 
James  Trcadway,  Eliphalet  Gillett,  D.  D.,  Jared  Reid,  Hubbel  Loom  is,  Calvin 
Foote,  William  Henry  Foote,  D.  D.,  Joel  W.  Newton,  Alfred  Newton,  Israel 
T.  Otis,  Orrin  Otis,  Ezra  Hall  Gillett,  Dillon  Williams,  David  Trumbull, 
James  T.  Hyde,  Hobart  M.  Bartlett,  Guy  B.  Day,  Eleazer  Avery. 
*  Sp.  An.  1,  53,  235.  t  Allen.  %  Sp.  An.  2.  204. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  COLLINSVILLE,  ORG.  JUNE  25,  1832. 
MINISTERS,  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

H.  N.  Brinsmade,  1832  1835 

Stephen  Mason,  1835  1836 

C.  V.  Vanarsdalen,  1836  1838 

F.  A.  Barto-n,  Oct.    1838  May,   1843 

Charles  B.  McLean,  Feb.    1844 

This  church  has  grown  up  in  the  midst  of  a  thriving  business  community, 
distinguished  for  enterprize,  prosperity,  and  the  high  regard  paid  to  educa- 
tion, for  which  they  are  largely  indebted  to  the  proprietor  of  the  manufac- 
turing establishment,  from  whom  the  village  is  named. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  COLUMBIA,  (FORMERLY  LEBANON  CRANK,)  ORG.  1720. 

Samuel  Smith,  1720  Dec.     1724.  1725 

William  Gager,*  May,    1725  Sept   1734  May,  1739 

Eleazer  Wheelock,  D.  D,t       June,  1735  1770  April,  1779 

Thomas  Brockway,}  June,  1772  July,  1807 

Thomas  Rich,  Mar.    1811  June,  1817  Sept  1836 

William  Burton,  Feb.     1818  June,  1819 

David  Dickinson,  Jan.    1820  July,    1837  Jan.    1857 

Charles  B.  Kittredge,  Mar.    1839  Feb.    1841 

James  W.  Woodward,  Mar.     1842  Oct.     1848 

Frederick  D.  Avery,  June,  1850 

This  church  was  the  first  of  four  successive  offshoots  from  the  first  church 
in  Lebanon.  The  Ecclesiastical  society  was  constituted  in  1716,  and  known 
as  the  second  society  in  Lebanon,  or  Lebanon-Crank,  until  1804,  when  Co- 
lumbia became  a  distinct  town.  Dr.  Wheelock  began  his  ministry  just  at 
the  commencement  of  the  "  Great  Awakening,"  and  he  became  an  earnest 
and  efficient  co-laborer  with  President  Edwards.  His  own  people  shared 
largely  in  the  blessing  which  everywhere  attended  his  labors.  At  one  time, 
he  said  he  "  had  charity  to  address  the  body  of  his  own  people  as  Christians." 


366  History  of  the  Churches. 

The  success  of  his  labors  outside  of  his  own  field  is  exemplified  by  the  fact, 
that  being  called  to  organize  a  church  remote  from  his  place  of  residence,  it 
was  found,  on  personal  examination,  that  all  who  then  united  in  church  cov- 
enant referred  to  his  preaching  and  efforts  as  the  means  of  their  conversion. 
While  he  brought  upon  himself  the  severe  censure  of  some  good  men  be- 
cause he  felt  at  liberty  to  reach  over  his  parish  lines  in  his  labors,  he  esca- 
ped not,  on  the  other  hand,  the  denunciations  of  the  Separatists  of  that  day. 
In  1755  Dr.  Wheelock  established  "  Moor's  Indian  Charity  School,"  which, 
after  a  prosperous  growth  of  fifteen  years,  was  transferred,  against  the  ear- 
nest remonstrances  of  his  people,  to  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  and  there  it 
became  the  foundation  of  Dartmouth  College,  Dr.  Wheelock  being  its  first 
President.  His  immediate  successor,  Rev.  Thomas  Brockway,  in  the  troub- 
lous times  of  war,  showed  himself  not  only  the  faithful,  devoted  pastor,  but 
the  patriotic  citizen,  offering  to  relinquish  £15  a  year  of  his  salary,  during 
the  struggle,  and  £10  until  the  continental  debt  should  be  paid.  But  this  sa- 
crifice, in  the  security  of  his  home,  was  not  enough ;  no  sooner  did  the  news 
of  the  burning  of  New  London  reach  the  place,  than  "  he  started  off  with  his 
long  gun,  and  deacons  and  parishioners,  to  assist  in  doing  battle  with  the 
enemy." 

During  Mr.  Brockway's  ministry,  the  church  and  people  were  blessed 
with  two  revival  seasons, — in  1781  and  in  1801,  as  the  fruits  of  which,  sixty- 
five  were  added  to  the  church.  The  subsequent  periods  of  special  religious 
interest  have  been,  in  1816,  when  fifty  were  gathered  into  the  church  ;  in 
1821,  1823,  1825  and  1831,  adding  one  hundred ;  in  1841,  seventeen  ;  in 
1854  and  1858,  forty -three.  The  first  meeting-house  was  completed  in  1727, 
the  second  in  1748,  the  third  in  1832.—  Rel.  Intel.  16,  126.  En.  Mag.  3.  368. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Smalley,  D.  D.,  John  Wheelock,  Samson  Oc- 
cum§,  Daniel  Crocker,  Elijah  Parish,  D.  D.,  Walter  Harris,  D.  D.|,  Ariel  Par- 
ish, Ezra  Woodworth,  Joel  West,  Bezaleel  Pinneo,  Diodate  Brockway,  Alfred 
Wright,  James  D.  Chapman,  Daniel  Hunt,  Aniasa  Dewey,  Charles  Little. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  180.  4Sp.  An.  1,  397.  Allen.     J  Sp.  An.  1,  605.  Allen.    §  Sp.  An.  3, 192. 
Eel.  Intel.  7,  380,  393.     \  Mendon  As.  231. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CORNWALL,  ORG.  1740. 

MDSTSTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.                     DIED. 

Solomon  Palmer,  Aug.     1741  1754 

Hezekiah  Gold,  Jr.,  Aug.    1755  1790 

Hercules  Weston,  June,  1792  Nov.    1803                        1811 

Timothy  Stone,*  Nov.     1803  May,    1827             April,  1852 

William  Andrews,  t  July,    1827  Jan.     1838 

Nathaniel  M.  Urmston,  June,  1838  May,   1840 

Hiram  Day,  Feb.     1844  Sept.  1848 

Ralph  Smith,  Sept    1851  1855 

Ira  Pettibone,  Sept.    1854  Sept.   1857 

Stephen  Fenn,  May,    1859 


History  of  the  Churches.  367 

The  organization  of  this  church  was  at  the  same  time  and  place  of  that 
of  the  town.  Whole  number  of  families  at  the  time,  twenty-five.  The  first 
vote,  passed  at  this  first  town  meeting,  after  the  election  of  town  officers, 
was  "  to  provide  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  among  them."  "Mr.  Pal- 
mer continued  with  them  in  peace  until  March,  1754,  when,  on  the  sabbath, 
to  the  great  surprise  of  the  people,  he  declared  himself  an  Episcopalian.  He 
soon  after  went  to  England  and  obtained  orders."  There  were  three  revi- 
vals somewhat  extensive,  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Stone,  by  whom,  over 
two  hundred  were  received  into  the  church  by  profession.  During  the  min- 
istry also  of  Mr.  Andrews,  through  the  blessing  of  God  on  his  labors,  there 
were  sixty  or  more  added  to  the  church.  There  were  some  indications  of 
the  divine  presence  and  blessing  during  the  labors  of  most,  if  not  all  those 
worthy  men  who  have  fulfilled  their  work  among  this  church  and  people. 

During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Stone,  the  Foreign  Mission  School  was  estab- 
lished here,  for  the  education  of  heathen  youth,  of  different  nations  and 
tribes,  to  prepare  them  to  be  missionaries  of  the  gospel  to  their  countrymen. 
It  commenced  in  1818,  and  was  closed  in  1826.  Henry  Obookiah,  from  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  died  and  was  buried  here ;  seemingly  at  that  time,  a 
dark  providence  for  the  cause  of  missions.  See  article  on  Foreign  Mission 
School,  p.  160. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — William  Bonney,  Cornelius  B.  Everest,  Thomas 
R.  Gold,  T.  D.  P.  Stone,  Lucius  C.  Rouse,  William  Jackson,  r>.  D.,J  William 
W.  Andrews,  Samuel  J.  Andrews,  Ebenezer  B.  Andrews,  E.  Warner  An- 
drews. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  634,  Allen.    Litclif.  Centen.  130.    t  Sp.  An.  2,  237,  Litchf.  Centen.  120. 
J  Mendon  Assoc.  250,  Sp.  An.  2,  336. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  COVENTRY,  (SocTH,)  ORG.  1712. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Joseph  Meacham,*  Oct.    1714  Dec.    1752 

Oliver  Noble, t  1759  June,  1761  Dec.    1792 

Joseph  Huntington,!  June,  1763  Dec.    1794 

AbielAbbot,§  Oct.     1795  April,  1811  Jan.     1859 

Chauncey  Booth,  Sept.  1815  Mar.    1844  May,   1861 

Henry  B.  Blake,  Jan.    1845  Sept.    1848 

Charles  Hyde,  Oct.    1849  June,  1854 

J.  R.  Arnold,  Dec.    1854 

Of  the  early  history  of  this  church  but  little  is  known.  The  central  pe- 
riod of  its  history  furnishes  proof  that  orthodoxy  and  vital  godliness  were 
safer  in  the  keeping  of  the  church,  than  in  that  of  the  ministry.  See  page 
276.  In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1736,  the  Church  was  blessed  with  an 
interesting  revival.  But  from  the  year  1736  to  the  year  1811,  it  is  not  known 
that  there  was  a  single  revival  of  religion. 


368  History  of  the  Churches. 

Under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Booth,  there  were  added  to  the  church  two 
hundred  and  ninety -two,  mostly  the  fruits  of  five  revivals  ;  under  Mr.  Hyde, 
forty-nine  were  added.  The  ministry  of  Mr.  Booth  would  seem  to  have 
constituted  the  David-and-Solomon  period  of  the  church,  in  which  it  saw 
the  days  of  its  greatest  prosperity.  It  is  now  but  a  fragment  of  what  it 
might  have  been,  on  account  of  the  loss  of  a  pastor  in  whom  they  were  hap- 
pily united  ;  and  of  near  fifty  members,  who  left  to  form  the  "village  church" 
in  consequence  of  a  disagreement  as  to  the  site  of  the  meeting-house. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Enoch  HaleJ  Samuel  Buell,  D.  D.,1T  David  Hale. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  217.  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1,  602.  Allen.      J  Sp.  An.  1,  602.  Allen.      §  Sp. 
An.  2,  346.     |  Spr.  An.  3,  102.    1  Spr.  An.  2,  572. 


THE  VILLAGE  CHURCH  IN  (SOUTH)  COVENTRY,  ORG.  JAN.  10,  1849. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Marvin  Root,  1848 

Henry  B.  Blake,  May,  1850  March  1855 

Louis  E.  Charpiot,  May,  1858     Ord.  May,  1859. 

The  Society  was  formed  about  a  year  before  the  Church,  and  had  preach- 
ing in  a  private  hall.  This  Church  is  a  colony  from  the  First  Church  in 
Coventry,  organized  (with  fifty  members,)  to  accommodate  the  inhabitants 
of  that  part  of  the  town  called  "The  Village."  It  has  enjoyed  several  sea- 
sons of  revival.  During  the  three  years  after  Mr.  Blake's  dismission, 
preaching  was  very  irregular  and  mostly  by  the  students  from  the  Seminary 
at  East  Windsor. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  CROMWELL,  ORG.  JAN.  1705. 

Joesph  Smith,  Jan.     1705  Sept.     1736 

Edward  Eells,*  Sept    1738  Oct       1776 

Gershom  Bulkley,  June,  1778  July     1808        April,    1832 

Joshua  L.  Williams, t  June,  1809  Dec.      1832 

Zebulon  Crocker,  May,  1833  Nov.      1847 

George  A.  Bryan,  June   1849  Oct.       1857 

James  A.  Clark,  «      1858 

Cromwell  was  formerly  the  second  or  North  Ecclesiastical  Society  in  Mid- 
dletown,  called  "  Upper  Houses  "  in  Middletown.  The  Society  was  incor- 
porated May,  1703.  Mr.  Smith  was  born  in  Concord,  Mass.,  and  graduated 
at  Harvard  University.  Mr.  Eells  was  a  son  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Eells  of 
Scituate,  Mass.,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  University,  in  1733.  He  published 
a  pamphlet  on  the  "  Wallingford  Case ;"  and  had  three  sons  who  became  cler- 
gymen in  Eastbury,  North  Branford,  and  Barkhamsted. 


History  of  the  Churches.  369 

Mr.  Bulkley  was  born  in  Wethersficld,  and  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1670.  He  died  in  his  former  parish,  aged  84.  Mr.  Williams  was  born  in 
Wethersfield,  and  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1805. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.— Wm.  W.  Woodworth,  Jairus  Wilcox. 
*  Spr.  An.  1,  383.    Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  D  ANBURY,  ORG.  1696. 

MINISTERS,  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Seth  Shove,*  1696  Oct.     1735 

Ebenezer  White,t  March  1736  March,  1764  1779 

Noadiah  Warner,  Feb.     1765  Feb.      1768 

Ebenezer  Baldwin,!  Sept.    1770  Oct.    1776 

Ebenezer  Bradford,  April,   1777  Nov.      1779 

John  Rodger*,  D.  D.,§  "       1780  Jan.      1782 

Timothy  Langdon,  Aug.    1786  Feb.     1801 

Israel  Ward,  May,    1803  Aug.    1810 

William  Andrews,!  June,    1813  May,     1826  Jan.     1838 

Anson  Rood,  April,  1829  Dec.       1837 

Rollin  S.  Stone,  Jan.     1838  Feb.       1850 

Samuel  G.  Coe,  Dec.     1850 

The  early  records  of  the  Church  being  lost,  if  any  were  ever  kept,  little  is 
known  of  its  origin. 

Mr.  White,  after  officiating  acceptably  for  nearly  thirty  years,  withdrew 
and  formed  a  separate  society  under  the  name  of  "  New  Danbury,"  which 
finally  coalesced  with  the  sect  of  the  Sandemanians,  followers  of  one  Rob- 
ert Sandeman,  a  Scotchman.  This  breach  is  the  only  one  in  the  history  of 
the  Church  occasioned  by  theological  controversy.  The  heretical  offshoot 
has  nearly  run  out,  while  the  original  stock  is  yet  firm  and  vigorous. 

The  Church  has  enjoyed  several  seasons  of  religious  awakening,  and  most 
of  the  additions  within  the  last  forty  years  have  been  the  fruits  of  revivals. 
The  years  1815,  1824,  1831,  1855,  and  1858,  were  specially  years  of  ingath- 
ering. Seventy -five  years  ago  the  number  of  communicants  was  63 ;  now 
it  is  300.  In  1851,  eighteen  persons  went  off  harmoniously  from  the 
Church  and  formed  a  second  Church.  In  the  same  year,  the  same  number  of 
persons  took  letters  and  formed  themselves  into  a  Church  at  Mill  Plain. 

The  Church  has  worshiped  in  four  successive  Church  edifices;  the  last 
one,  a  new  and  commodious  structure,  being  occupied  within  the  last  year. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.— Caleb  Barnum,1F  James  Beebee,  Nathaniel  Tay- 
lor, Ebenezer  White,  Benjamin  Wildman,  Noah  Benedict,  John  Langdon 
Samuel  Cooke,  (Ep.)  Henry  Lobdell,**  (f.) 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  116.  Allen.  tSp.  An.  1,  815.  JSp.  An.  1,  635.  Allen.  §Sp.  An. 
3, 154.  1  Sp.  An.  2,  237.  Litchfield  Centen.  120.  H  Mendon  Assoc.  p.  100.  **  Men- 
don  Assoc.  p.  832. 

48 


370  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  SECOND  CHUKCH  IN  D ANBURY,  ORG.  JULY,  1851. 

J1INISTEKS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  C.  Scofield,  July,    1851  April,    1S54 

E.  8.  Huntington,  Sept.    1854  Sept.     1856 

Richard  Hooker,  Nov.    1856  April,   1857 

Samuel  N.  Hoirell,  Nov.    185T  April,  1820 

David  Peck,  June,   1858 

Twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago  some  members  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  had  their  attention  called  to  the  formation  of  a  colony,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  extending  the  influence  of  religion.  Other  denominations  however 
sprang  up  in  the  vicinity,  and  supplied  for  a  period  the  spiritual  wants  of  an 
increasing  population. 

About  1 850  it  was  again  thought  that  there  was  a  demand  for  a  Second  Con- 
gregational Church.  Accordingly  in  May,  1851,  sixteen  individuals  received 
the  consent  of  the  First  Church  to  hold  separate  religious  services,  on  con- 
dition that  they  were  to  be  held  responsible  "  neither  for  the  success  nor 
support "  of  the  enterprise. 

The  house  belonging  to  the  Universalist  Society  was  rented,  and  divine 
services  commenced  June  1st.  Such  was  the  encouragement  which  a  gra- 
cious Providence  afforded,  that  the  brethren  resolved,  June  17,  to  proceed 
to  the  formation  of  a  Church. 

During  the  subsequent  Fall  and  Winter  there  was  a  revival  of  re- 
ligion, as  the  result  of  which  about  15  souls  were  added  to  the  Church  on 
confession  of  their  faith.  Within  a  year  after  the  commencement  of  religious 
services,  the  Church  erected  a  house  of  worship  at  an  expense  of  $2500. 

In  the  early  part  of  1858  this  Church  enjoyed  another  revival,  as 
the  fruit  of  which  about  35  persons,  most  of  whom  were  young  men,  were 
added  to  its  membership.  A  revival  also  in  1859. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  DARIEN,  (FORMERLY  MIDDLESEX,)  ORG.  JUNE,  1744. 

Moses  Mather,  D.  D.  June,  1744  Sept.     1806 

William  Fisher,  July,    1807  March,  1819 

John  Noyes,  1820?  1823? 

Ebenezer  Platt,  Sept.    1825  Aug.      1833 

B.  Y.  Messenger,  1834  1835 

Ulrie  Maynard,  June,  1835  April,   1838 

Ezra  D.  Kinney,  Aug.    1838  May;     1859 

Jonathan  E.  Barnes,  Aug.  1860 

The  town  of  Darien  formerly  belonged  to  Stamford.  This  Society  was  in- 
corporated under  the  name  of  Middlesex,  which  name  it  retained  till  Nov. 
1858,  when  it  was  voted  that  it  should  be  called  Darien.  There  have  been 
frequent  revivals  in  this  rhurch,  which  have  kept  it  from  becoming  extinct. 

One  Sabbath,  during  the  Revolution,  the  Church  was  suddenly  surround- 
ed by  Tories  and  the  British,  and  forty  men,  (nearly  all  who  were  in  Church, 


History  of  the  Churches.  371 

including  Dr.  Mather,)  and  as  many  horses,  were  carried  off  to  Long  Island. 
Many  of  them  never  returned. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Charles  G.  Selleck,  (h.)  Charles  Richards,  (h.) 


THE  CHURCH  IN  DAYVILLE,  (  IN  KILLINGLY,)  ORG.  MAY,  1849. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Roswell  Wkitmore,  (c.)  April,  1849  Oct.       1857 

D.  C.  F,ost, 

G.  F.  R.  Bacheller,  (c.) 
John  D.  Potter, 
William  W.  Belden,  1859 

There  was  a  revival  in  1858-9,  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Potter.  This 
is  one  of  the  manufacturing  villages  that  have  sprung  up  in  Connecticut 
within  a  few  years,  which  have  felt  the  need  of  a  Church  and  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  gospel  for  their  own  convenience. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  DEEP  RIVER,  (IN  SAYBROOK,)  ORG.  APRIL,  1834. 

Darius  Mead,  May,    1835  Oct.      1837 

Zabdiel  R.  Ely,  Dec.     1837  May,     1839         Nov.      1839 

Frederick  W.  Chapman,        May,    1839  Oct.       1850 

James  A  Clark,  Dec.     1850  Nov.      1853 

George  W.  Connitt,  Dec.    1854  July,     1856 

N.  A.  Hyde,  1857 

D.  Mead,  1858 

Henry  VVickes,  Dec.     1858 

The  members  of  the  Churches  of  Saybrook  2d,  and  Chester,  residing  in  Deep 
River,  feeling  that  the  religious  welfare  of  themselves  and  their  children  re- 
quired the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship,  and  the  organization  of  a  Church 
and  congregation  within  their  limits,  adopted  measures  to  carry  their  desires 
into  effect.  The  house  of  worship  was  completed  in  December,  1833,  and  a 
Congregational  Society  was  formed  the  same  month. 

Members  in  1834,  68;  added  by  Mr.  Mead,  90;  by  Mr.  Chapman,  148. 
During  the  next  two  years  after  Mr.  Connitt's  dismission,  the  Church  was 
in  a  distracted  state,  and  was  at  length  divided,  and  a  Presbyterian  Church 
formed,  but  the  Church  was  blessed  with  a  revival  in  which  36  were  added. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Jackson  J.  Bushnell. 


372  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  is  DERBY,  ORG.  1677. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Bowers,  1677  1688 

Mr.  Well,  1688  1700 

John  James,  1700 

Joseph  Moss,  1706  1731  1732 

Daniel  Humphreys,*  1733  1787 

Martin  Tuller,  1783  1796  '      1813 

Amasa  Porter,  1797  1805 

Thomas  Ruggles,  1809  1812 

Zephaniah  Swift,  1813  1848 

Lewis  D.  Howell,  1836  1838 

Hollis  Read,  1838  1843 

George  Thacher,  1844  1848 

Jesse  Guernsey,  1849  1852 

R.  P.  Stan  ton,  1853  1856 

C.  C.  Tiffany,  1857 

The  Church  has  had  three  houses  of  worship ;  the  first  was  destroyed 
more  than  one  hundred  years  since,  the  second  gave  place  to  the  present,  45 
years  since,  which  was  refitted  very  tastefully  15  years  ago,  and  is  beauti- 
fully situated  in  a  grove. 

There  have  been  several  revivals  of  religion,  when  quite  a  large  number 
have  been  received  into  the  church.  The  most  extensive  was  in  1812,  when 
there  was  no  pastor;  nearly  100  were  then  added;  in  1852,  34;  and  in 
1858,  49. 

It  was  the  custom,  some  years  since,  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Swift,  to 
hold  protracted  and  three-days  meetings,  when  several  ministers  would  as- 
semble and  occupy  the  time  in  preaching  and  devotional  exercises.  These 
meetings  were  almost  always  the  occasion  of  the  awakening  and  conversion 
of  many.  The  Churches  in  Birmingham  and  Ansonia  were  formed  by  mem- 
bers from  this  Church  They  are  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

MISISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Amos  Bassett,   D.  D.,  Daniel  Tomlinson,  Charles 
Nichols,  Isaac  Jennings,  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,   Archibald  Bassett,  John  L. 
Tomlinson,  Truman  Coe,  Wales  Coe,  "William  E.  Bassett. 
*  Sp.  An.  1,  315.    Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  DURHAM,  ORG.  FEB.  11,  1711. 

Nathaniel  Chauncey,*  Feb.  1706,  ord.  Feb.  1711                             Feb.    1756 

Elizur  Goodrich,  D.  o.,t           Dec.    1756  Nov.    1797 

David  Smith,  D.  D.,                  Aug.    1799  Jan.    1832 

Henry  Gleason,                        Aug.    1832  Sept.  1839 

Charles  L.  Mills,                      April,  1841  Sept.  1845 

Merrill  Richardson,                Jan.     1847  Jan.    1849 


History  of  the  Churches.  373 

JinnSTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

L.  H.  Pease,  Jan.    1849  Jan.    1851 

J.  B.  Cleaveland,  Jan.    1852  1853 

B.  S.  J.  Page,  Oct.    1853  Oct    1856 

A.  C.  Baldwin,  Oct    1857 

The  first  permanent  white  settler  in  Durham  removed  to  that  place  in 
1698.  In  1708,  the  male  adult  population  had  increased  to  thirty-four.  In 
that  year  they  took  measures  to  secure  a  permanent  settled  ministry.  The 
town  proposed  to  give  Mr.  Chauncey  a  salary  of  £60  "  in  grain  at 
country  price"  also  a  settlement  of  £55  "t/i  grain  at  country  price"  to- 
gether with  a  house,  and  certain  lands  which  had  previously  been  set  apart 
for  the  first  minister,  which  he  was  to  hold  in  his  own  right ;  provided  he 
continued  their  pastor  during  his  natural  life.  Mr.  Chauncey  accepted  their 
invitation,  but  was  not  ordained  until  February,  1711,  after  preaching  there 
five  years.  The  ordaining  council  consisted  of  Revs.  Timothy  Woodbridge 
of  Hartford,  Noadiah  Russell  of  Middletown,  Thomas  Ruggles  of  Guil- 
ford,  and  Samuel  Russell  of  Branford.  The  following  year,  the  town  voted 
to  build  a  meeting-house  40  feet  square.  In  17:35  larger  accommodations 
being  necessary,  a  second  house  of  worship  was  commenced  and  finished  in 
1737.  This  house  continued  just  one  century.  In  1835,  the  third  house 
was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  first.  This  building  was  consumed  by  fire  in 
1844.  The  fourth  church  edifice  was  located  half  a  mile  north  of  the  place 
where  the  others  had  stood,  and  was  dedicated  June,  1847.  During  this  year 
a  second  church  and  society  were  organized,  who  erected  a  house  of  worship 
on  the  old  site ;  the  dedication  sermon  by  Professor  W.  C.  Fowler,  contains 
much  historical  matter.  Mr.  Chauncey,  born  September  26,  1681,  was 
grandson  of  Rev.  Charles,  second  President  of  Harvard  College,  and  son  of 
Rev.  Nathaniel,  of  Windsor,  and  Hatfield,  Mass.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
first  class  that  graduated  at  Yale  College,  1702.  Dr.  Goodrich,  born  at 
Rocky  Hill,  October  26,  1734  was,  in  1777,  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
of  Yale,  in  connection  with  Dr.  Stiles.  On  counting  the  votes  of  the  Corpo- 
ration, they  were  found  to  be  equally  divided ;  whereupon  Dr.  Goodrich  in- 
sisted upon  his  right  to  vote  as  a  member,  and  gave  the  Presidency  to  Dr. 
Stiles. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — William  Seward,  Elnathan  Chauncey,  Ichabod 
Camp,  (Ep.)  Roger  Newton,  D.  D.,  Ebenezer  Guernsey,  Samuel  Johnson, 
Noah  Merwin,  Lemuel  Parsons,  Samuel  Goodrich,  Joseph  E.  Camp,  Noah 
Coe,  Timothy  Tuttle,  David  Marsh  Smith,  William  C.  Fowler,  Elizur  G. 
Smith,  Talcott  Bates,  Henry  B.  Camp,  Dwight  M.  Seward,  Collins  Stone. 
•Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  1,  506.  Allen. 


THE  CHCRCH  is  DURHAM  CENTER,  ORG.  MAY  4,  1847. 
James  R.  Mershon,  April,  1848  April,  1850 

George  E  Hill,  July,  1850  July,  1851 

L.  H.  Pease,  July,  1851  July,  1852 


374  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIE  D. 

R.  G.  Williams,  Oct.    1853  April,  1855 

Richard  Hooker,  Dec.    1857  Dec.    1858 

Irem  W.  Smith,  Aug.    1858 

On  the  16th  of  November,  1844,  the  house  of  worship  belonging  to  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Durham,  took  fire  and  was  burned  to  the  ground. 
In  making  arrangements  for  the  erection  of  a  new  building,  the  members  of 
the  church  and  society  were  unable  to  agree  upon  a  location.  After  many 
months  spent  in  unavailing  efforts  to  attain  unity  of  feeling  and  action, 
it  seemed  to  the  members  of  the  church  residing  in  the  south  part  of  the 
town  that  their  duty  clearly  directed  them  to  the  formation  of  a  new  church 
and  society ;  accordingly  a  church  was  organized  by  a  committee  of  the  Con- 
sociation. In  1858,  forty-four  united  with  this  church,  as  the  result  of  a 
revival. — Prof.  Fowler's  Dedication  Sermon. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  AVON,  ORG.  MARCH  17,  1819. 

Bela  Kellogg,*  Nov.    1819  Sept.  1829  April,  1831 

Francis  H.  Case,  Dec.     1830  April,  1840 

Stephen  Hubbell,  Dec.    1840  May,  1853 

J.  S.  Whittlesey,  July,  1853  Oct.    1854 

H.  M.  Colton,  Feb.     1855  April,  1857 

E.  D.  Murphy,     April,  1858,  inst.  June,  1859. 

Some  unhappy  divisions  having  existed  in  the  society  of  Northington,  for 
a  number  of  years,  relative  to  the  most  convenient  place  for  erecting  a  new 
meeting-house,  the  former  one  having  been  consumed  by  fire  in  1817,  and 
the  society  continuing  unable  to  unite  on  any  place  for  the  erection  of  a 
house  of  worship,  in  1818  they  erected  two,  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  each  other.  The  proprietors  of  this  place  petitioned  the  General  As- 
sembly in  October,  1818,  for  an  act  of  incorporation,  which  was  granted. 
The  old  church  declining  to  give  letters  of  dismission  for  the  organization  of 
a  new  church,  even  after  the  incorporation  of  the  societj*,  the  Consociation, 
being  called,  judged  it  best  that  there  should  be  another  formed,  and  so  consti- 
tuted the  petitioners  a  church.  This  church,  from  its  commencement,  has  had 
a  steady  and  permanent  growth ;  has  ever  contributed  to  the  various  benev- 
olent societies,  and  has  been  blessed  with  several  interesting  revivals  of  reli- 
gion. It  has  ever  been  prompt  to  the  day  in  paying  the  minister's  salary. 
It  has  not  been  destitute  altogether  of  troubles  and  divisions,  yet  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Lord  has  been  upon  it;  and  during  the  year  1858  it  shared 
richly  in  the  precious  outpouring  of  the  Spirit. 

*  Allen. 


History  of  the  Churches.  375 

THE  CHURCH  ix  EASTFORD,  ORO.  SEPT.  23,  1778. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Andrew  Judson,*  Dec.    1778  June,  1808 

John  Judson,  1807?  1809? 

Hollis  Sampson,  Dec.    1809  1815 

John  Nichols,  1816  1818 

Reuben  Torrey,  May,    1820  April,  1840 

Francis  Williams,  Sept.    1841  Nov.    1851 

William  M.  Birchard,  1853  1854 

Henry  Ilanmer,  1854  1855 

Sumner  Clark,  1856  1857 

Charles  Chamberlin,  April,  1858 

Mr.  Sampson  came  from  the  Methodists  ;  had  gifts,  but  little  education. 
His  ministerial  character  suffered  from  habits  of  drinking,  till  at  length  he 
was  carried  home  intoxicated.  He  made  confessions,  but  it  was  feared  never 
wholly  reformed.  His  truthfulness  was  often  very  seriously  questioned.  A 
member  commenced  discipline  with  him,  whereupon  he  disciplined  the  mem- 
ber, and  had  him  excommunicated.  On  an  appeal,  the  Consociation,  without 
deciding  the  case,  advised  both  parties  to  make  confession,  with  which  Mr. 
Sampson  complied.  He  was  afterwards  dismissed  without  complaint ;  but 
finally  silenced  by  Consociation ;  after  which,  he  went  into  Vermont,  and 
preached  Universalism  many  years.  Mr.  Nichols  was  unstable,  anti-Calvin- 
istic,  and  led  many  away  from  the  truth.  In  the  fall  of  1818,  Dr.  Nettleton 
came  and  preached  here  and  at  Ashford  alternately,  through  the  winter,  and 
a  most  glorious  revival  was  experienced.  Almost  all  the  youth,  all  the  choir 
but  one,  who  were  not  previously  professors,  and  many  of  our  most  substan- 
tial men  and  women  were  the  subjects,  and  the  church  was  greatly  strength- 
ened. There  were  several  revivals  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Torrey  and  Mr. 
Williams. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Judson,  Chester  Carpenter. 

*  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  GLASTEXBURV,  (FORMERLY  EASTBURY,)  ORG.  1727. 

Ebenezer  Wright,  (c.} 

Jonathan  Hubbard,  (c.) 

John  Williams,  (c.) 

Daniel  Blish,  (c.) 

William  Gager,  e.) 

Chiliab  Brainard,  Jan.    1736  Jan.    1739 

Nehemiah  Brainard,  Jan.     1740  Nov.  1742 

Isaac  Chalker,  Oct.    1744  May,   1765 

Samuel  Woodbridge,  June,  1766  June,  1768  ?  17(J7 

James  Eells,  Aug.    1769  Jan,    1805 

Joseph  Strong,  Jr.»  April,  1806  1817  1823 


376  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jacob  Allen,  July,  1822  1835  Mar.    1856 

Thomas  Williams,  1839  1840 

Aaron  Snow,  April,  1841 

The  society  was  formed  1731,  and  a  meeting-house  was  soon  built.  Rev. 
N.  Brainard  was  a  brother  of  David  Brainard.  Mr.  "Woodbridge  lost  his 
reason  about  a  year  after  his  settlement,  owing  to  unremitting  study,  as  he 
allowed  but  four  hours  daily  for  sleep.  After  recovering  his  reason,  he 
preached  in  Virginia  and  Georgia,  and  was  a  chaplain  in  the  army  ;  at  length 
he  located  in  W.  Hartland.  Mr.  Eells  found  his  salary  too  small.  His  prop- 
erty passed  into  the  hands  of  trustees,  of  whom  it  was  rented  for  the  nom- 
inal sum  of  £5  per  annum.  During  the  last  two  years  of  his  life,  the  soci- 
ety provided  him  with  a  home,  board,  clothing,  and  $50  a  year.  Some  of 
the  votes  respecting  the  matter  may  interest  the  curious.  Oct.  11,  1803, 

"Voted  that  Capt. take  care  of  Mr.  Eells  the  ensuing    year.     Voted 

that  Capt. shall  procure  clothing  for  Mr.  Eells,  as  shall  be  necessary, 

the  ensuing  year.  Nov.  4,  1S04,  Voted  that  the  committee  dispose  of  Mr. 
Eells  as  they  shall  think  best."  After  his  death,  March,  1805,  "  Voted  that 
Deacon  G —  go  among  the  neighboring  priests  to  see  if  they  will  give  us 
assistance.  Voted  S —  C —  take  care  of  the  priests,  Sundays."  Mr.  Williams 
has  preached  in  various  places  in  Conn,  for  short  periods  ;  in  all,  five  or  six 
years,  during  fifty  seven  years  ministry.  There  have  been  frequent  revivals 
during  the  last  two  pastorates.  The  society  received  Home  Missionary 
aid  till  1858. 

*  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  GRANBY,  (FORMERLY  TURKEY  HILLS,)  ORG.  1737. 

Ebenezer  Mills,  1742  1755  1799 

Nehemiah  Strong,*  Jan.  1761  1767  Aug.    1807 

Abel  Forward,  Jan.  1773  Jan.     1774 

Aaron  J.  Booge,  Nov.  1776  Dec.    1785 

Whitfield  Cowles,  May,  1794  Nov.    1808  Nov.    1840 

John  Taylor,  1810?  .     1815? 

Eber  L.  Clark,  July,  1816  July,  1820  1857 

Erastus  Ripley,  1820  1822 

Chester  Chapin,  1822  1823 

Ebenezer  Holping,  1824  1826 

Stephen  Crosby,  Nov.  1826  Jan.    1832 

Daniel  Hemenway,  July  1832  June,  1842 

J.  Bowen  Clarke,  Nov.  1842  Aug.    1845 

Pliny  F.  Sanborne,  April,  1846  Feb.    1853 

Sidney  Bryant,  Oct.  1855  April,  1860 

Rev.  Mr.  Wolcott  was  the  preacher  here  in  1737,  and  during  that  year 
the  ecclesiastical  society  was  formed,  but  there  are  no  records  of  the  church 


History  of  the  Churches.  377 

previous  to  1776.  The  Rev.  TThitfield  Cowlcs  became,  during  his  ministry, 
an  open  believer  in  universal  salvation,  and  was  silenced  Nov.  1808,  but  his 
influence  for  evil  long  continued. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Alexander  Gillet,  Newton  Skinner. 

*Sp.  An.  1,481. 


THE  FIUST  CHURCH  IN  EAST  HADDAM,  ORG.  MAY  3,  1704. 

MI  SISTERS,  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Stephen  Hosmer,  May,     1704  June,  1749 

Joseph  Fowler,  May,     1751  June,  1771 

Elijah  Parsons,*  Oct.      1772  Jan.     1827 

Isaac  Parsons,  Oct.       1816  April,  1856 

Silas  W.  Robbing,  Oct.      1856 

The  town  of  East  Haddam  was  originally  included  in  the  town  of  Had- 
dam,  and  the  inhabitants  on  the  east  side  of  Connecticut  river,  previous  to 
the  year  1700,  went  over  the  river  to  attend  public  worship,  and  to  transact 
town  business.  The  Ecclesiastical  Society,  formed  in  1700,  at  first  embra- 
ced the  entire  town  of  East  Haddam  ;  the  church  was  organized  of  members 
detached  from  the  Church  in  Haddam.  Their  first  house  of  worship  was 
occupied  twenty-three  years;  the  second,  sixty -six;  their  third,  built  in 
1794,  at  an  expense  of  $4000,  having  been  remodeled  and  improved,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  taste  of  the  age,  is  stiil  a  commodious,  tasteful  and  desirable 
church  edifice.  Added  to  the  church  in  the  first  pastorate,  of  forty -five  years, 
two  hundred  and  fifty-four ;  second  pastorate,  of  twenty -one  years,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  ;  third  pastorate,  of  forty-four  years,  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  ;  fourth  pastorate,  of  forty  years,  four  hundred  and  fifty-two  ;  fifth 
pastorate,  to  Jan.  1859,  ninety-four.  There  were  eight  revivals  of  religion 
during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Isaac  Parsons,  and  the  additions  to  the  church 
were  for  the  most  part,  fruits  of  these  revivals ;  though  in  every  year,  with 
only  one  or  two  exceptions,  one  or  more  were  added  by  letter  or  profession. 
MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jedediah  Chapman,t  Elihu  Spencer,  D.  o.,J 
George  Hall,  Epaphras  Chapman, (f.)  Robert  D.  Gardner,  Henry  M.  Parsons, 
Stephen  Fuller,  (f.) 

*Sp.  An.  1.  607.  Allen.    tSp.  An.  3.  165.    JSp.  An.  4.  95. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  HAMPTON,  IN  CHATHAM,  ORG.  Nov.  30,  1748. 

John  Norton,*  Nov.    1748  Mar.    1778 

Samuel  Parsons,  Feb.     1779  Feb.    1791 

Joel  West,t  Oct.     1792  Oct     1825 

Timothy  Stone,}  June,  1828             Feb.       1832  1852 

Samuel  J.  Curtis,  Nov.    1832            Nov.     1837 

*  Allen,  t  Allen.    +  Sp.  An.  1.  634,    Allen. 

49 


378  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Rufus  Smith,  Sept.    1838  June,  1845 

William  Russell,  Oct.     1846  Oct.     1855 

£  H.  Pease,  1856  1858 

Henry  H.  Russell,  Dec,    1859 

The  Society  was  incorporated  May,  1746.  Mr.  Norton  was  settled  in  Ber- 
nardston,  Ma?s.,  in  1741,  but  dismissed  in  1748  by  reason  of  disturbances 
in  the  French*  war.  In  the  second  French  war  he  went  as  chaplain  in  the 
expedition  to  Crown  Point,  and  his  association,  (Hartford  South,)  agreed  to 
supply  his  pulpit  in  his  absence,  from  October  12,  1755,  to  the  next  Febru- 
ary. Mr.  Stone  first  studied  the  art  of  painting  under  the  celebrated  John 
Trumbull ;  and  afterwards  studied  theology  under  Dr.  D wight. 

The  old  house  of  worship  was  torn  down  in  1854,  having  stood  nearly 
100  years,  and  a  new  one  was  erected  on  the  same  site. 
*  Allen,    t  Allen.    J  Sp.  An.  1.  634.  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  HAKTFOKD,  OKG.  1695. 

Samuel  Woodbridge,*  1705  1746 

Eliphalet  Williams,  D.  D.t  1748  June,  1803 

Andrew  Yates,  D.  D.  1801  1813  1844 

Joy  H.  Fairchild,  1816  1827  Feb.    1859 

Asa  Mead,  1830  1831 

Samuel  Spring,  D.  D.,  1833 

This  was  known  as  the  Third  Church  in  Hartford,  till  the  town  of  East 
Hartford  was  incorporated  in  1784.  Dr.  Yates  left  to  fill  a  professorship  in 
Union  College.  Mr.  Mead  died  after  a  ministry  of  11  months. 

Three  houses  of  worship  have  been  built  by  this  congregation  since  the 
settlement  of  the  town.  The  first  was  a  small,  low  building,  and  stood 
about  45  years.  The  second  was  built  in  1740,  and  taken  down  in  1835, 
having  been  occupied  95  years.  The  present  house  was  dedicated  January 
20,  1836.  There  have  been  several  marked  seasons  of  revival  since  the 
formation  of  this  church  ;  but  as  the  present  pastor's  private  papers,  together 
with  some  of  the  most  reliable  and  valuable  records  of  the  church,  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1858,  no  minute  and  correct  account  can  be  given  of  these. 
Six  "  times  of  refreshing"  since  1833  are  well  remembered,  during  which 
nearly  300  have  been  added  to  the  church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Allen  Olcott,  Eliphalet  Williams,  Jr.  (Bap.)  Chas. 
0.  Reynolds,  Frederick  H.  Pitkin  (h.) 

*Allen.    f  Sp.  An.  1.  323.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  HAVEN,  ORG.  OCT.  8,  1711. 

Jacob  Hemingway,  1704,  ord.  Oct.  1711  Oct.     174 

Nicholas  Street,*  Oct.    1755  Oct.     1860 


History  of  the  Churches.  379 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Saul  Clark,  Jan.  1808  May,  1817  Dec.  1846 

Stephen  Dodd,t  Dec.  1817  April,  1847  Feb.  I85e 

D.  W.  Havens,  June,  1847 

Mr.  Hemingway  preached  about  seven  years  before  the  church  was 
formed,  the  original  members  having  belonged  to  the  church  in  New  Ha- 
ven. Mr.  Street  died  on  the  51st  anniversary  of  his  ordination.  Added 
during  his  ministry,  230;  in  a  revival  in  1817,  118  ;  under  Mr.  Dodd,  181  ; 
in  1852,  85,  as  the  fruits  of  an  extensive  work  of  divine  grace. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jacob  Hemingway,  Dana  Goodsell,  Owen  Street. 
*Sp.  Ail.  2.  202.  Allen,  t  Allen.  Cong.  Y.B.  3,  95. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  LTME,  ORG.  1719. 
Ebenezer  Mack, 

George  Griswold,  1724  1761 

George  Oaborn,  1816  1817 

William  Lockwood,  1817 

Jteriah  Green,  1821  1822 

John  R.  St.  John,  1823  1827  1828 

Herman  L.  Vaill,  1823  1836 

Frederick  Gridley,  1836  1856 

Joseph  Ayer,  1857 

Mr.  Griswold  was  an  active  promoter  of  the  great  awakening.  He  la- 
bored not  only  at  home,  but  also  in  other  parishes.  The  work  continued 
nearly  two  years,  and  one  hundred  white  persons,  and  thirteen  Indians  be- 
came members  of  the  church.  Tracy's  Great  Awakening,  pp.  150.  156.  From 
1761,  the  church  was  able  to  have  but  little  preaching,  until  1793,  when  it  had 
become  virtually  extinct.  In  that  year  it  was  re-organized.  Henceforth  it  main- 
tained public  worship  constantly,  by  services  of  the  brethren,  in  prayers  and 
the  reading  of  sermons,  and  by  occasional  preaching.  In  1816,  domestic  mis- 
sionaries began  their  labors  in  this  place  ;  under  which  the  church  and  con- 
gregation increased,  until  the  settlement  of  Mr.  St.  John,  in  1823.  Since 
that  time  it  has  been  favored  with  constant  preaching,  and  with  occasional 
revivals  of  religion.  It  is  still  feeble  ;  but  with  some  aid  from  the  Domestic 
Missionary  Society,  it  continues,  and  has  a  prospect  of  being  perpetuated. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — George  Griswold,  Daniel  Smith,  Samuel  Griswold, 
Seth  Lee  (Bap.),  Jason  Lee  (Bap.) 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EASTON  (FORMERLY  NORTH  FAIRFIELD,)  ORG.  DEC.   13,  1763. 

James  Johnson,*                      Dec.    1763  Sept.   1810 
Henry  Sherman,                      April,  1813            June,  1815 

Nathaniel  Freeman.t              Feb.     1819            April,  1832  June,  1854 


380  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Geo.  H.  Hulin,  April,  1833  Oct.     1834 

Chas.  T.  Prentice,  June,  1836  April,  1851 

Martin  Dudley,  Dec.    1851 

This  church  at  its  organization  embraced  nine  male  members,  of 
whom  its  first  pastor  was  one.  After  the  Council  had  "owned  them"  as  a 
consociated  church,  "  the  church  proceeded  to  invite  Mr.  Johnson  to  take 
the  pastoral  care  and  charge  of  them."  Mr.  Johnson  accepted  the  invita- 
tion. "  The  council  then  proceeded  to  the  ordination."  During  a  part — 
if  not  the  whole  of  Mr.  Johnson's  ministry — the  practice  of  "  owning  the 
covenant"  prevailed  ;  33  being  received  to  full  communion — and  87  "  own- 
ing the  covenant,"  had  their  children  baptized — 295  in  all.  From  being 
a  beneficiary  of  the  A.  H.  M.  S.,  the  church  has  become  self-supporting,  hav- 
ing a  fun  dof  $3,200. 

*  Allen,    f  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  PUTNAM,  (FORMERLY  NORTH  KILLINGLY,)  ORG.  OCT.  1715. 

John  Fisk,*  Oct.     1715  Aug.  1741  May,  1773 

Perley  Howe,  1746  Mar.    1753 

Aaron  Brown,  Jan.     1754  Sept.  1775 

Emerson  Foster,  "       1788  1779 

Elisha  Atkins,t  June,  1784  June,  1839 

William  Bushnell,  Aug.  1832  Mar.    1835 

Sidney  Holman,  Mar.     1836  Apr.  1838 

Henry  Robinson,  Nov.    1838  "     1845 

John  D.  Baldwin,  April,  1846  Sept.  1849 

Norria  0.  Lippitt,  (Meth.)  1850  1851 

Benj.  B.  Hopkimon,  June,  1851  June,  1855 

Edward  F.  ErooJcs,  April,  1856  "     1858 

Hezekiah  Ramsdell,  (Meth.)  1858 

The  church  has  enjoyed  repeated  seasons  of  revival,  in  which  large  num- 
bers were  received  into  it.  The  whole  number  of  members  from  the  be- 
ginning is  about  750  ;  the  number  of  baptisms,  about  1600. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Perley  Howe,  Joseph  Howe,  Manasseh  Cutler, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,J  Erastus  Lamed. 

*  Allen,    t  Allen.     1  Sp.  An.     2.  14. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  EAST  WINDSOR,  ORG.  JUNE,    1752. 

Thomas  Potwine,*  May,  1754  Nov.    1802 

Shubael  Bartlett,t  Feb.  1804  June,  1854 

Samuel  J.  Andrews,  Oct.  1848  May,   1855 

Frederick  Munson,  Sept.  1856 


History  of  the  Churches.  381 

This  church,  at  its  foundation,  was  the  sixth  in  the  ancient  town  of  Wind- 
sor. When  East  Windsor  was  incorporated  as  a  town  in  1768,  this  church 
was  the  third  in  that  town  ;  when  Ellington  was  set  off  in  1786,  it  became 
the  second ;  and  when  Windsor  became  a  distinct  town,  it  became  the  first 
church  in  East  Windsor.  It  has  been  blessed  with  stability  in  the  pasto- 
rate. 

In  1827,  an  addition  to  the  society  funds  was  made,  which  became  available 
in  1849.  They  then  amounted  to  $4,000,  and  were  held  on  the  following  con- 
ditions :  "  That  the  Society  shall  maintain  a  decent  meeting-house  for  public 
worship ;  that  the  meeting-house  shall  be  entirely  the  property  of  the  Soci- 
ty  ;  that  the  Society  shall  not  at  any  time  be  destitute  of  an  ordained  minis- 
ter more  than  two  years,  which  minister  shall  be  a  learned  man  of  true 
orthodox  principles,  according  to  the  sense  in  which  our  fathers  maintained 
the  same." 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Henry  Bissell,  (h. )  Sanford  Bissell,  (h.)  Lemuel 
Bissell,  (f.)  Eldad  Barber,  I.  N.  Tarbox,  Thomas  S.  Potwin,  Lemuel  S.  Pot- 
win. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  9.    Allen,     t  Sp.  Au.  2.  192.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  INSTITUTE,  EAST  WINDSOR  HILL,  ORG.  Nov. 

18,  1835. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Bennet  Tyler,  D.D.*  Nov.    1835  May,   1858 

The  church  was  organized  for  the  accommodation  of  the  professors  of  the 
Theological  Institute,  together  with  their  families  and  the  students — the 
nearest  place  of  worship  being  about  two  miles  distant.  Their  worship  is 
conducted  in  the  chapel  of  the  Institute,  and  some  of  the  families  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood  attend  with  them.  Rev.  Asahel  Nettleton,  D.  D.,  re- 
sided near  the  Seminary,  from  1834  to  1844,  made  donations  to  its  funds, 
and  gave  the  students  familiar  lectures  on  revivals  and  kindred  topics.  See 
notice  of  Mm  in  Dr.  Sprague's  Annals,  Vol.  2.  542  ;  also,  Memoir  by  Dr. 
Tyler,  1844. 
MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Josiah  Tyler  (f.) 

*  New  Englander,  1859,  p.  746. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EAST  WOODSTOCK,  ORG.  1759. 

Abel  Stiles,*  1759  July,  1738 

Joshua  Johnson,  Dec.    1780  Sept.     1790 

Wm.  Graves.t  Aug.    1791  Aug.    1818 

Samuel  Backus,  Jan.     1815  June,    1830 

Ezekiel  Rich,  1830  1831 


382  His'ory  of   the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Wm.  M.  Cornell,  1831  1832 

Orson  Cowles,  April,  1832  Sept.  1837 

Thos.  Boutelle,  Dec.    1837  Mar.  1849 

Jag.  A.  Clark,  1850 

Michael  Burdett,  April,  1852  Jan.    1854 

Jas.  A.  Roberts,  Mar.    1854  1855 

Edward  H.  Pratt,  Dec.    1855 

About  the  year  1759,  a  part  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Wood- 
stock (South),  removed  from  South  Woodstock,  to  the  then  North  Wood- 
stock, comprising  the  present  Societies  of  East  and  North  Woodstock.  It 
seems  hardly  probable  that  this  church  was  ever  regularly  organized ;  but 
taking  the  original  records,  and  the  pastor  of  the  old  church,  it  proceeded 
without  a  new  organization  after  the  removal.  It  has  been  blessed  with  fre- 
quent revival  seasons.  Some  of  these  occurred  in  the  years  1815,  '31,  '32,  '39, 
'42,  '55,  and  '58.  In  1831,  a  difficulty  concerning  the  site  of  the  meeting- 
house, led  to  the  formation — by  apartof  the  church — of  a  new  church  in  North 
Woodstock ;  and  this  church,  which,  in  some  sense,  appears  to  be  the  orig- 
inal church,  removed  again,  taking  once  more  a  new  name,  and  leaving  the 
secession  to  form  anew,  at  the  location  of  the  first  removal. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Willard  Child,  D.  D.,  Albert  Paine,  Charles 
Walker,  D.  D. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  470.    Allen,     t  Sp.  An.  2.  10.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ELLINGTON,  ORG.  1730. 

John  McKinstry,*  1730  1749  Jan.    1753 

Nathaniel  Huntington,  Oct     1749  April,  1856 

Seth  Norton,  1756?  Jan.    1762 

John  Bliss,  Oct.     1764  Dec.      1780          Feb.    1790 

Joshua  Leonard,  Sept.   1791  Oct       1798 

Diodate  Brockway,t  Sept,    1799  Jan.    1849 

LaviusHyde,  Nov.     1830  Feb.      1834 

Ezekiel  Marsh,  April,  1835  April.   1844          Aug.    1844 

Nathaniel  H.  Eggleston,         Feb.     1845  Mar.      1850 

George  I.  Wood,  June,  1850  June,    1854 

Thomas  K.  Fessenden,  Jan.     1855 

The  first  settlement  of  Ellington  was  made  in  1720  ;  though  the  town 
was  not  incorporated  till  1786.  In  1730  there  were  eleven  families  in  the 
place,  at  which  time  Mr.  McKinstry,  a  native  of  Scotland,  purchased  land 
there  ;  though  he  was  not  installed  till  three  years  after.  Mr.  Huntington, 
born  in  Windham,  died  at  the  age  of  31,  much  beloved.  Mr.  Norton,  born 
in  Farmington,  died  at  the  early  age  of  30. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Wiu.  Andrews,    Horace   Belknap,    Otis   Saxton, 


History  of  the  Churches.  383 

(Mi-th.),  J-  M.  Willey,  (Ep  ),  Darius  Morris,  Roswell  Shurtleff,   John  Ells- 
worth,  Norman  Nash,  J.  Addison  Saxton,  S.  D.  Pitkin. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  357.    Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1.  605.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ELLSWORTH,  IN  SHARON,  ORG.  MARCH,  15,  1802. 

MINISTERS,  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Daniel  Parker,  May,     1802  Nov.    1812  1832 

Orange  Lyman,  Aug.     1813  Sept    1816  July,   1851 

Frederick  Gridley,  June,    1820  Mar.    1836 

John  W.  Beecher,  Dec.     1841  Sept.    1847  Jan.     1858 

William  W.  Baldwin,  1849  1851 

William  J.  Alger,  Feb.     1852  Dec.     1853 

Porter  B.  Parry,  1853  Aug.  1857 

Robert  D.  Gardner,  June,  1858 

A  boarding  school  was  established  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  Parker,  which  at- 
tained to  considerable  celebrity,  and  was  continued  by  him  for  some  time  af- 
ter his  dismission.  Several  men  who  have  risen  to  eminence,  are  said  to 
have  been  members  of  this  school.  A  fund  was  raised  by  subscription 
about  the'time  of  the  organization  of  the  church,  amounting  to  one  thousand 
pounds  (to  which  was  added  $2,500  in  1813,)  the  subscription  payable  in 
fanner's  produce,  or  bar  iron,  at  the  market  price,  with  provision  that  it 
should  be  loaned  on  mortgage  for  double  the  amount,  and  in  case  of  any  loss, 
it  was  to  be  made  good  by  the  society,  under  the  penalty  of  the  income's  re- 
verting to  the  subscribers,  or  to  their  heirs,  until  the  conditions  are  complied 
with.  A  similar  penalty  is  annexed  to  a  failure  to  provide  preaching  for  the 
term  of  a  year,  either  by  a  pastor  or  candidates  for  settlement. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.— Gad  Smith,  (Meth.)  Gad  Smith,  2d,  (Meth.) 
Edwin  Baily,  (Bap.)  Seymour  Landon,  (Meth.)  Walter  Chamberlain,  Alvin 
Somers,  Charles  Y.  Chase,  Thomas  Beebe,  (Bap.)  Milo  N.  Miles,  (h.)  Elisha 
Frink,  (Meth.) 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  ENFIELD,  ORG.  1683. 

Mr.  Welch, 

Nathaniel  Collins,*  1699                          1724                     1856 

Peter  Raynolds.t  1725                                                   1768 

Elam  Potter,  1769                         1776 

Nehemiah  Prudden,J  1782                                                      1815 

Francis  L.  Robbins,§  1816                                                      1850 

Charles  A.  G.  Brigham,  1851                          1855 

Abraham  L.  Bloodgood,  1855 

When  Mr.  Prudden  was  settled,  the  church  was  in  a  very  divided    state. 

He  was  a  peace-maker,  a  wise  and  judicious  man,    and  Calvinistic  in   his 


384  History  of  the  Churches. 

views,  and  under  his  ministry  the  church  was  built  up.  Mr.  Bobbins  was  a 
Calvinist  ;  his  preaching  was  more  practical  and  experimental  than  his  pre- 
decessor. Under  his  ministry  there  were  several  revivals  ;  in  1821  more 
than  100  were  added  to  the  church  ;  also  in  1830  and  1841,  large  additions, 
and  he  died  in  the  midst  of  a  revival.  When  Mr.  Brigham  was  settled,  the 
church  and  society  were  harmonious ;  but  soon  discord  and  contention 
sprang  up,  on  account  of  the  sentiments  he  advanced,  which  ended  in  his 
dismission,  and  the  division  of  the  church,  and  his  settlement  over  the  se- 
cession. 

For  an  account  of  the  revival  in  1740,  and  President  Edwards'  noted  Enfield 
sermon,  see  Tracy's  Great  Awak.  276,  and  Trumbull's  Hist.  2.  145. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Origen  Morrison,  James  P.  Terry,  Nehemiah  P. 
Pierce,  Joseph  Meacham,  William  Dixon,  Calvin  Terry. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  183.  Allen.  fSp.  An.  1. 180,  Allen.  JSp.  An.  1.  585.  Allen.  §  Sp. 
An.  1.  370. 


THE  NORTH  CHURCH  IN  ENFIELD,  ORG.  MARCH  7,  1855. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Charles  A.  G.  Brigham,          Mar.    1855 

This  church  separated  from  the  First  Church  in  consequence  of  the  dis- 
missal of  their  pastor,  Mr.  Brigham,  by  the  Consociation,  in  disregard  of 
the  protest  of  both  the  pastor  and  the  church.  They  did  this  on  grounds  of 
expediency,  in  view  of  the  divided  state,  and  deep  feeling  of  the  church,  on 
account  of  the  extreme  Calvinistic  views  of  the  pastor  advanced  in  his 
preaching.  A  majority  of  the  church  took  letters  of  dismission,  and  orga- 
nized a  new  church,  leaving  a  majority  of  the  society,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  church  to  retain  their  old  organization,  with  all  the  ecclesiastical  prop- 
erty. The  house  of  worship  of  the  new  society  was  built  the  same  year. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ESSEX,  ORG.  SEPT.  1,  1852. 

E.  W.  Tucker,  Aug.     1852  Aug.      1853 

James  A.  Gallup,  May,     1854 

The  church  in  Essex  is  a  branch  from  the  church  at  Center  Brook, 
formed  with  52  members ;  since  added  ninety-two.  Efforts  were  immedi- 
ately made  to  erect  a  house  of  worship,  and  the  society  have  now,  free  from 
debt,  a  very  tasteful  and  commodious  house,  built  at  a  cost  of  $8,000  ;  and 
also  a  very  fine  and  capacious  lecture  room.  The  entire  current  expenses 
are  raised  promptly  from  the  income  of  pew  rents  and  subscriptions,  and 
about  $200  are  contributed  annually  to  benevolent  objects  abroad.  Several 
seasons  of  spiritual  refreshing  have  been  enjoyed,  but  none  of  such  power 
as  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1858.  The  chief  characteristics  of  the 
church  and  society  have  been  from  the  beginning  an  entire  unity  of  feeling 


History  of  the  Churches.  385 

and  action — a  self-denying  liberality,  and  a  deeply  felt  dependence   on  the 
divine  presence  and  aid  to  give  success  to  all  plans  and  labors. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  EXETER,  IN  LEBANON,  ORG.  1773. 
MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Gurley,*  May,    1775  Feb.    1812 

John  H.  Fowler,  Oct.     1813  Mar.      1821  1829 

Daniel  Waldo,  Sept.   1823  Sept.     1834 

Lyman  Strong,  1835  July,     1841 

Stephen  Hayes,  July,  1841  April,    1846 

John  Avery,  June,  1848 

The  church  in  Exeter  is  a  branch  of  the  church  in  Goshen.  The  separa- 
tion was  occasioned  principally  by  the  fact  that  the  people  could  not  unite  on 
a  position  for  a  church  edifice.  There  have  been  several  revivals  since 
1809  ;  adding  67  in  1821 ;  20  in  1845  ;  and  55  since  1848.  The  first  church 
edifice  was  erected  in  1773;  the  second  in  1844.  The  church  received  aid 
from  the  Home  Missionary  Society  in  former  years;  but  since  1852,  it  has 
been  self-sustaining. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Shubael  Bartlett,  John  Bartlett,  Ralph  R.  Gurley, 
Flavel  Bascom,  Hobart  Bartlett. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  192.    Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  FAIRFIELD,  ORG.  1650. 

John  Jones,*  1639  1664 

Samuel  Wakeman,  Sept.   1665  Mar.    1693 

Joseph  Webb,  Aug.    1694  Sept  1732 

Noah  IIobart,+  Feb.    1733  Dec.    1773 

Andrew  Eliot,}  June,  1774  Sept  1805 

llcinan  Humphrey,  D.  D.,        April,  1807  May,  1817 

Nathaniel  He  wit,  D.  D.,  Jan.     1818  Dec.     1827 

John  Hunter,  Dec.     1828  1834 

Lyman  Atwater,  D.  D.,  July,    1835  -Sept   1854 

Willis  Lord,  Nov.    1854  1856 

Alexander  McLean,  Jr.,          Jan.     1857 

Mr  Hobart,  in  consequence  of  the  springing  up  of  Episcopacy  around  him, 
undertook  the  vindication  of  ordination  other  than  prelatical ;  whence  arose 
a  controversy  which  continued  several  years.  The  opponents  of  Mr.  Ho- 
bart were  Dr.  Johnson,  and  Messrs.  Beach,  Wetmore,  and  Caner,  who  had 
swerved  from  Congregationalism.  He  had  few  equals  in  this  country  for 
acuteness  and  learning.  He  published  two  addresses  to  the  members  of  the 
Episcopal  separation  in  New  England.  Mr.  Eliot  was  the  son  of  Rev.  An- 
drew Eliot,  of  the  North  Church,  Boston,  and  his  son,  of  the  same  name, 
50 


386  History  of  the  Churches. 

was  pastor  at  New  Milford.  Mr  Eliot  is  highly  extolled  by  Dr.  Dana  in 
Sprague's  Annah.  When  Gen.  Tryon  burnt  the  town  of  Fairtield  in  1779, 
his  house,  with  a  large  and  choice  library,  was  burnt ;  the  latter  was  re- 
stored by  contributions  of  his  friends  in  Boston.  Hon.  Roger  M.  Sherman 
left  to  the  society  a  parsonage  valued  at  $10,000,  and  $2,5'JO  as  a  fund  to  keep 
it  perpetually  in  repair.  The  ministerial  fund  of  the  society  is  also  $5,700. 

.MiN'sTEUs  RAISED  UP — Eliphalet  Jones, §  Andrew  Eliot,  Jonathan  Row- 
land, Oliver  Dimon,  Richard  Woodhull,  Ebenezer  P.  Rogers,  Benjamin  Par- 
sons, Isaac  M.  Ely,  E.  P.  Humphrey, D.  D.,  John  Humphrey, J 

*  Allen.  tSp.  Au.  1.  375.  Allen.    J  Sp.  An.  1.  420.    §Sp.  An.  3.  31.    I  Sp.  An.  4,  821. 


FIRST  CHURCH  IK  FAIR  HAVEN,  (IN  NEW  HAVEN,)  ORG.  JUNE  23,  1830. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED . 

John  Mitchell,  Dec.    18:30  Nov.    1836 

B.  L.  Swan,  Nov.    1836  June,  1845 

Burdett  Hart,  Sept.    1846  Aug.    1860 

On  the  same  day  that  this  church  was  organized,  a  commodious  house  of 
worship  was  dedicated.  The  number  of  original  members  was  fifty -three  ; 
thirty  of  whom  were  from  the  East  Haven  church,  and  twenty -three  from 
the  North  Church  in  Xew  Haven  ;  eighteen  more  were  soon  after  added 
from  the  North  Church.  This  church  was  founded  with  no  sectarian  or  par- 
tisan intent,  nor  to  carry  any  points  of  theological  difference  :  but  to  meet 
the  actual  want  of  the  community  for  the  means  and  agencies  of  worship, 
and  to  secure  here  the  great  ends  of  religion,  the  observance  of  Christian  or- 
dinances, and  the  preaching  of  the  free  and  blessed  gospel  of  Christ.  Soon 
after  it  was  formed  it  was  favored  with  successive  revivals.  The  year  1848 
was  also  peculiarly  distinguished  in  its  history  as  a  season  of  refreshing 
from  the  Lord.  On  the  2Jth  day  of  April,  1854,  the  new  edifice  of  the  First 
Society  was  publicly  set  apart  for  the  uses  of  divine  worship.  It  is  a  large, 
substantial  and  attractive  church,  Beating  fourteen  hundred  persons.  It  be- 
longs to  the  society,  and  its  slips  are  annually  rented  to  defray  the  current 
expenses.  Under  the  first  pastorate  there  were  added  to  the  church  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  ;  under  the  second,  seventy-three ;  under  the  third, 
thus  far,  three  hundred  and  eighty.  A  colony  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen 
members  from  the  First  Church  was  organized  as  tlje  "Second  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  Fair  Haven,"  on  the  31st  day  of  March,  1852. — Rel.  In- 
tel. 17,  250. 


SECOND  C ii fKCti  IN  FAIK  HAVEN,  (IN  EAST  HAVEN,)  OKG.  MARCH  31,  1852. 

Nathaniel  J.  Lurton,  July,  1853  ^ept.  1857 

Timothy  Dtciglit)  Sept.  1853  Aug.    1859 


History  of  the  Churches.  387 

IIIMSTEliS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

C.  D.  Murray,  lie.  18fiO 

J-Mirin  Dimock,  lie.  1860 

To  furnish  needed  church  accommodations,  a  house  of  worship,  costing, 
with  organ,  $10,000,  was  erected  <>n  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  completed 
March,  1852.  The  church  was  formed  with  ninety-three  members  from  the 
First  Church,  and  twenty-six  more  soon  after.  In  March,  1853,  forty-one 
members  were  dismissed,  to  form  the  Third  Church.  The  revival  of  1858 
added  sixteen. 


THE  CENTER  CHURCH  IN  FAIR  HAVEN,  (IN  NEW  HAVEN,)  ORG.  MAY  3,  1853. 
W.  B  Lee,  Aug,     1853  Mar.    1860 

There  were  thirty-eight  members  in  this  church  at  the  time  of  its  organ- 
ization, who  had  taken  letters,  in  regular  form,  from  the  Second  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  Fair  Haven.  They  met  in  Walworth  Hall,  on  Grand  street, 
until  their  church  edifice  was  completed  and  dedicated,  Sept.  Cth,  1854. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  FALLS  VILLAGE,  (IN  CANAAN,)  ORG.  OCT.  27,  1858. 

H.  A.  Russell,  Oct.     1858  Oct.     1859 

John  Edgar,  Oct.     1859 

Formed  by  Consociation  with  twelve  members.  Twenty- seven  persons  were 
added  in  the  year  following.  A  house  of  worship  has  been  erected  thirty- 
four  feet  by  forty-eight,  at  a  total  cost  with  the  land  on  which  it  stands,  of 
$2,400.  Expenses  and  benevolent  contributions  for  the  year  $902. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  FARMINGTON,  ORG.  OCT.  13,  1652. 

Roger  Newton,*  1652  1657          June,  1683 

Samuel  Hooker,  t  1661  1697 

Samuel  Whitman,!  ™§  1751 

Timothy  Pitkin,§  1752  1785  1811 

Allen  Olcott,  1  1787  1791  1811 

Edward  D.  Griffin,  D.  D.1T    June,  1793  1794 

Joseph  Washburn,**  1795  1805 

Noah  Porter,  D.  D.  1806 

The  church  in  Farmington  was  constituted  with  seven  male  members,  inclu- 
ding the  pastor.  The  half-way  covenant  was  adopted  under  Mr.  Whitman's 
ministry,  and  discontinued  after  much  debate  and  difficulty  under  his  suc- 
cessor, Mr.  Pitkin.  The  present  meeting  house  was  built  in  1771,  in  the 
best  manner,  and  of  the  choicest  materials — an  evidence  of  which  is,  that 


388  History  of  the  Churches. 

the  outside  covering,  first  put  on,  (including  the  shingles,)  is  yet  sound  and 
good.  The  steeple,  above  the  belfry,  was  raised  entire,  where  it  has  stood 
unimpaired,  to  the  present  day.  The  present  town,  till  1825,  when  a  Meth- 
odist church  was  formed,  was  one  Ecclesiastical  Society  or  Parish,  with  no 
house  of  worship,  church  or  religious  teacher,  besides  the  Congregational. 
Nov.  4,  1840,  a  historical  discourse  was  delivered  before  the  citizens  of  Far- 
mington,  in  commemoration  of  the  original  settlement  of  the  ancient  town, 
in  1050,  by  Xoah  Porter,  Jr.,  now  Professor  in  Yale  College.  The  discourse, 
together  with  valuable  historical  and  biographical  notes,  was  published. 
There  have  been  revivals  of  religion  in  the  Congregational  church  of  this 
town  from  its  first  organization  to  this  time  ;  and  more  frequently  since  1793. 
Memoir  of  Dr.  Nettleton,  140.  ED.  Mag.  1.  378,  420. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Daniel  Hooker,  Elnathan  Whitman,  John  Hart, 
Lathrop  Thomson,  Edward  Porter,  Giles  H.  Cowles,  D.  D.,  Isaac  Porter, 
Robert  Porter,  Hezekiah  N.  Woodruff,  Asahel  Hooker,  Ephraim  T.  Wood- 
ruff, Noah  Porter,  D.  D  ,  Elnathan  Gridley  (f.),  John  Richards,  D.  D.,tt 
James  Wilcox,  Horace  Woodruff,  George  J.  Tillotson,  William  S.  Porter, 
Noah  Porter,  Jr.,  D.  I).,  Walter  Clarke,  D.  D.,  Giles  M.  Porter,  Chauncey  D. 
Cowles,  Lewis  Bodwell,  (h.) 

*Sp.  An.  1.  37.  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  1.37.  Allen.  %  Sp.  An.  1.  315.  Allen.  §Sp- 
An.  1.  347.  Alien.  J  Allen.  <[  Sp.  4.  26.  Allen.  **  Allen,  ft  Cong.  Quar.  1.  vol. 
1.  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  FRANKLIN,  OBG.  JAN.  4,  1718. 

Henry  Willes,*  Oct.     1718  Sept.  1758 

JohnEllis,t  Sept.  1753  1779  Oct     1805 

Samuel  Nott,  D.  D.J  Mar.     1782  May,   1852 

George  Justus  Harrison,         Mar.     1849  Oct.  1851 

Jared  Reid  Avery,  Dec.  1851,  installed  Mar.  1854 

This  church  was  organized  with  eight  members,  all  males.  The  Ecclesi- 
astical Society  was  in  existence  more  than  a  year  before  this.  Provision  for 
religious  worship  was  made  during  the  winter  of  1716-17,  in  private 
houses:  and  the  following  summer,  the  people  worshiped  in  a  barn.  At 
this  time,  there  was  in  the  neighborhood  an  old  meeting  house,  in  ruins, 
whose  "  pulpit,  and  seats,  and  canopee"  the  society  agreed  to  take  at  five 
pounds,  ten  shillings,  money,  or  as  money.  By  vote  of  society,  Nov.  22, 
1716,  the  new  meeting  house  was  located  "  at  the  place  commonly  known 
by  the  name  of  Arnold's  barn,  or  about  12  rods  southward  therefrom:" 
house  to  be  u  forty  foot  long,  thirty-five  feet  wide,  and  eighteen  foot  between 
joints."  It  was  finally  left  with  the  carpenter  to  decide  whether  the  house 
should  "  stand  at  the  place  where  the  timber  lies,  or  down  at  the  walnut 
bush  where  the  path  comes  up  the  hill."  The  meeting-house  was  seated  by 
a  committee,  according  to  age  and  estate. 

Norwich,  West  Farms,  was  constituted  the  town  of  Franklin  in  1786.  A 
great  revival  added  to  the  church  100  members  in  1741-2  ;  one  in  1855 


History  of  the  Churches.  389 

added  33.  In  1753,  there  were  more  than  100  members  of  the  society. 
The  ministry  of  the  first  three  pastors  embraces  a  period  of  136  years,  or 
two  years  more  th:m  the  whole  period  of  the  church's  existence,  prior  to 
the  death  of  Dr.  Nott.  The  present  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1836. 
MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — David  A  very,?  Oliver  Ayer,  Eliphalet  Nott,  John 
Hyde,  Eli  Hyde,  Samuel  Nott,  Charles  Hyde,  Lavius  Hyde,  Elijah  Harts- 
horn, Beaufort  Ladd,  Stephen  T.  Nott,  Robert  P.  Stanton,  Joseph  W.  Back- 
us, Alvan  Hyde, |  Asahel  Huntington.** 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  299.    Allen.    tSp.  An.  1.  604.    J  Sp.  An.  2.  190.    Allen.     §  Mendon 

As.  124.     I  Sp.  An.  2.  300.    Allen.    **  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  FITCHVILLE,  IN  BOZRAII,  ORG.  DEC.    1,  1854. 
William  Aitchison,  April,  1852  April,  1855  Aug.   1859 

W.   W.  Bellen,  "      1855  "      1857 

T.  D.  P.  Stone,  "     1857  Jan.    1859 

Joseph  A.  Saxton,  Jan.    1859 

The  house  of  worship  was  erected  by  Asa  Fitch,  Esq.,  the  owner  of  the 
factory  and  village  ;  and  the  ministers  have  been  supported  mainly  by  him, 
on  a  liberal  salary.  After  more  than  two  years  from  the  erection  of  the 
house,  the  church  was  formed. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GILEAD  (IN  HEBRON,)  ORG.  (PROBABLY)  1748. 
MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Lanydon,  1750  1751 

Elijah  Lothrop,*  April,  1752  Aug.   1797 

A  m  m  i  Rogers,  1797?  1 799  ? 

Nathan  Gillet,  NOT.  1799  Jan.     1824  July,  1845 

Charles  Nichols,  Sept.  1825  Oct.     1856 

The  Ecclesiastical  Society  in  Gilead  was  organized  May,  1748.  The  first 
church  edifice  was  erected  in  1749.  The  occasions  of  special  religious  in- 
terest during  the  century  were  in  the  years  1824  and  1831.  During  the  revival 
in  1831,  there  were  54  persons  added  to  the  church.  During  the  early  part  of 
the  year  1858,  a  work  of  grace  resulted  in  upwards  of  twenty  cases  of  hopeful 
conversion.  A  fund  established  in  1794,  by  Mr.  John  Gilbert,  now  amounts 
to  $4,000. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Eleazar  C.  Hutchinson,  D.  D.,  Edwin  R.  Gilbert, 

Samuel  Post. 

*  Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  :x  GLASTENBURT,  ORG.  JULY,  1692. 

Timothy  Stevens,*  Oct.     1693  April,  1726 

Ashbel  Woodbridge,t  "        1728  Aug,    1758 


390  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Eells,  June,   1759  May,   1791 

William  Brown,|  May,    1792  Jan.     1797 

William  Lockwood,§  Aug.     1797  May,   1804  June,  1828 

Prince  Hawes,  June,  1807  1820 

Caleb  Burge,  Aug.    1821  Nov.    1825 

Samuel  A.  Riddel,  June,  1827  Feb.     1837 

James  Smith,  Dec.     1837  Jan.     1858 

Amos  L.  Chesebrough,  July,    1858 

Those  members  of  the  First  Church  in  Wethersfield  who  resided  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Connecticut  River,  were  duly  organized  info  a  distinct 
church  July  28,  1692 — denominated  the  First  Church  in  Glastenbury.  In 
May,  1731,  a  new  Ecclesiastical  Society  was  incorporated  within  the  limits 
of  Glastenbury,  by  the  name  of  Eastbury,  and  a  church  immediately  or- 
ganized, consisting  of  those  members  of  the  First  Church  whose  home  was 
within  the  bounds  of  the  new  society.  The  First  Church  was  again  divi- 
ded by  the  organization  of  the  church  in  South  Glastenbury,  Dec.  22,  1836. 
Eel.  Intel.  11.  460. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Bulkley,  Samuel  Welles,  Charles  Treat, 
Jonathan  Hubbard,  Richard  Treat,  Samuel  Woodbridge,  Timothy  Wood- 
bridge,  William  Woodbridge,  Anson  Hubbard,  Albert  Hale,  Isaac  Plum- 
mer,  James  L.  Wright,  William  S.  Wright. 

*  Allen,     t  Allen.    %  Sp.  An.  1.  657.     §  Sp.  An.  1.  413.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GOSHEN,  ORG.  Nov.   1740. 

Stephen  Heaton,  Nov.   1740  May,    1753            Dec.     1788 

Abel  Newel,*  Aug.   1755  Jan.     1781                        1813 

Josiah  Sherman,  June,  1783  Feb.    1789 

Asahel  Hooker, t  Sept.  1791  June,  1810            April,  1813 

Joseph  Harvey,  Oct.     18 1Q  Sept.   1825 

Francis  H.  Case,  Feb.    1826  "     1828 

Grant  Powers,  J  Aug.   1829  April,  1841 

Lavalette  Perrin,  Dec.    1843  Sept.  1857 

Joel  F.  Bingham,  Jan.    1859  May,  1860 

The  lands  in  Goshen  were  originally  divided,  in  1739,  into  53  shares — 
one  for  the  ministry,  one  for  the  first  settled  minister,  one  for  schools,  and 
the  other  fifty  were  sold  at  public  vendue.  At  the  first  town  meeting,  in 
that  year,  it  was  voted  "  that  the  selectmen  shall  ascertain  the  places  of 
holding  the  meetings  for  the  public  worship  of  God."  Mr.  Beaton's  salary 
was£lOO  "settlement,"  to  be  paid  in  labor  in  two  years,  and  £110  the  first 
year,  increasing  £10  a  year  to  £170.  But  he  was  found  not  to  have  much 
fixedness  of  opinion  on  theological  subjects,  sometimes  preaching  to  please 
Arminians,  and  again  to  please  the  Orthodox,  the  consequence  of  which 
was,  that  he  lost  the  confidence  of  all.  Complaint  was  at  length  made  to 


History  of  the  Churches.  391 

the  Consociation,  by  the  fmr/t,  against  him,  of  "immoral  conduct  ;"  "impru- 
dent conduct  unbecoming  a  minister;"  "a  great  deficiency  in  ministerial 
qualifications."  Six  years  were  spent  in  the  trial.  His  confession  was  ac- 
accepted  as  Christian  satisfaction,  and  he  was  dismissed.  He  died  at  Go- 
shen,  leaving  a  large  estate. 

Mr.  Sherman  (brother  of  Hon.  Roger  Sherman,  of  Xe\v  Haven,)  wore  a 
large  white  wig,  and  was  very  imposing  and  winning  in  appearance.  He 
had  popular  talents,  and  at  first  was  very  acceptable.  But  alienation  arose, 
in  consequence  of  his  avowing,  in  his  preaching,  Arminian  sentiments. 
When  the  leading  members  of  the  church  who  felt  aggrieved  went  to  him 
to  talk  ab'xit  it.  he  took  offense,  and  they  complained  that  he  treated  them 
in  a  very  arbitrary  way,  "  overrating  human  knowledge  as  essential  to  con- 
version." Three  brethren,  at  this  time,  attended  service  one  Sabbath  at  a 
neighboring  church,  for  which  they  were  disciplined  ;  and  things  grew 
worse  till  Mr.  Sherman  agreed  to  a  dismission, — the  town  paying  him  £50. 
Then  the  church  were  in  a  confused  state,  and  called  a  council  of  ministers 
for  advice  ;  which  was  to  annul  all  votes  during  Mr.  Sherman's  ministry. 

Messrs.  II  Bin  j;!i  un  a:i  1  Thurston  were  or  June  1  missionaries  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  at  Goshen,  Sept.  1819  There  have  been  frequent  revivals  in 
the  last  sixty  years, — in  six  cases  adding  from  30  to  72  members  in  a  year. 
EC.  Xag.  1.  341.  Eel.  Intel,  7  232  ;  12.  731. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Noah  Wadhams,  Elisha  Parmelee,  Reuben  Par- 
melee,  Darius  0.  Griswold,  Edward  W.  Hooker,  D.  n.,  William  Thompson, 
D  D.,  Orlo  Bartholomew,  A-  T.  Norton  (h),  Luther  Hart.,  Ephraim  Lyman, 
Mark  Ives  (f.),  John  F.  Norton,  Augustus  Thompson,  Luther  H.  Beecher,  D.  D. 

*AlleD.    fSp.An.  2.  317.     Allen.    Litchf.  Centeii.  92.     £  Allen.  Litchf.  Centcn.  123. 


THE  CHURCH  is  GOSHEX  (ix  LEBANON,)  ORG.  Nov.  26,  1729. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jacob  Eliot,*  Nov.    1729                                           April,  1766 

Timothy  Stone,  t  Oct.     1766  Sept.   1767             M-.y,  1797 

Win.  B.  Ripley,{  Nov.    1798                                           July,  1822 

Erastus  Ripley,§  Sept  1823  Feb.    1832             Nov.  1843 

Salmon  Cone,  1832                                           Mar.  1834 

Israel  T.  Otis,  June,  1835  Mar.    1844 

Joshua  R.  Brown,|  May.    l845  June>  1852            ^P4-  1868 

Elijah  W.  Tucker,  Sept.   1853                        1858 

Aaron  R.  Livermore,  Feb.     1860 

This  church  was  formed  by  a  colony  of  twenty -nine  males  from  the  First 
Church  in  Lebanon.  On  the  following  year,  (1730)  56  females  were  re- 
ceived. About  the  year  1770,  a  part  of  the  church  was  dismissed,  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a  church  in  Exeter  Society. 


392  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Abraham  Fowler,  Dyar    T.    Hinkley,     Timothy 
Stone,  Orrin  Fowler,  Salmon  McCall. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  322.    t  Sp.  An.  1.  631.     Allen.     +  Allen.     gAllen.     [  Cong.  Y.  B.  6. 
119. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GRANBY,  ORO.  1739. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Eli  Col  ton,  Dec.    1740  Nov.     174:2 

David  S.  Rowland,  Feb.    1745  Aug.    1747  1794 

Burr,  Aug.   1747  Dec.     1748 

Aaron  Brown,  Oct.     1750  Dec-    1751 

Joseph  Strong,*  Nov.    1752  Nov.    1779  Jan.     1803 

Israel  Holly,  Oct.     1784  1793 

Isaac  Porter.f  June,  1794  Dec.    1832  1844 

Charles  Bentley,  Aug.   1833  Mar.    1839 

Chauncey  D.  Rice,  Oct.     1839  July,   1841 

Israel  P.  Warren,  April,  J842  May,  1845 

James  C.  Houghton,  June,  1845  April,  1847 

Alfred  White,  July,   1847  July,  1848 

Samuel  W.  Barnum,  April,  1849  April,  1850 

C.  F.  Page,  Oct.     1850  Mar.    1854 

Wm.  H.  Gilbert,  July,   1856 

The  earliest  Ecclesiastical  record  extant  pertaining  to  this  church  and  so- 
ciety, is  dated  May,  1739.  In  the  volume  which  contains  it,  a  part  of 
which  is  obliterated,  the  records  of  the  church  and  society  are  blended. 
On  the  27th  page — the  21st  now  existing,  we  find  the  first  distinct  notice  of 
the  church,  as  follows  : 

"  Att  a  meeting  of  ye  Northwest  Society  of  Simsbury  on  ye  last  Mon- 
day of  January,  1746-7.  Voted, 

1 .  Yt  we  chuse  y t  ye  church  in  this  society  shall  be  settled  a  Congrega- 
tional church. 

2.  Voted  yt  ye  Scriptures  of  ye  Old  and  New  Testaments,  as  they  are  ye 
only  unering  rule  of  faith  and  practis  to  Christians,  so  they  are  ye  only   un- 
ering  rule  of  church  government  and  discipline. 

3.  Yt  as  we  know   of  no  human  composition  yt  comes  nearer  to     ye 
Scriptures  than  Cambrig  platform  in  ye  substance  of  it,  so  we  chuse  yt   ye 
church  in  this  society,  shall  take  it  in  ye  substance  of  it  under  ye  scriptures 
for  their  rule  of  church  government  and  discipline. 

4.  Yt  in  ye  administration  of  church  membours,  we  judge  it  necessary 
yt  ye  persons  to  be  admitted,  give  to  ye  minister  an  account  of  their  knoleg 
in  ye  fundamental  docterings  of  ye  gospel,  their  faith  therein  to  his  satisfac- 
tion and  acceptance,  and  yt  every  such  person  being  free  from  scandal,    and 
of  regular  conversation,  being  propounded  to  ye  church  3  Lords  days  before 
admition,  may  then  be  admited,  by  and  with  ye  consent  of  ye  church,    pro- 
vided no  valid  objection  be  laid  against  them. 

5.  Voted  yt  we  naurtheless  are  not  straited   in   our  charity    towards 


History  of  the  Churches .  393 

our  neighboring  churches  yt  are  settled  under  Saybrook  platform,  or  those 
called  Presbyterians,  but  are  willing  yt  any  of  their  members  in  good 
standing  in  their  churches  shall  be  admitted  to  communion  in  this  church 
as  opportunity  may  present — as  also  yt  we  are  willing  yt  our  ministers  for 
ye  time  being  shall  exchang  labours  with  any  of  ye  ministers  of  any  of 
s'd  churches  yt  are  in  good  standing,  then  alway  provided  yt  it  be  with  ye 
consent  of  ye  church." 

The  whole  number  of  additions  to  the  church,  exclusive  of  its  original 
founders,  is  604. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joel  Hayes,  Silas  Higby,  Harvey  Hayes,  John  C. 
Strong,  Joseph D.  Strong,  Reuben  Holcomb,  Gordon  Hayes,  Amasa  A.Hayes, 
James  B.  Cleaveland- 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  229.     t  Allen. 


• 

THE  CHURCH  IN  GRASSY  HILL,  (IN  LVME,)  ORG.  1755. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Daniel  Miner,  I7o7  April,  1799 

SethLee,  Oct.    1817  Oct     1826 

Nathaniel  Miner,  Mar.    1827  Mar.    1829 

A.  Alden,  May,  1830  Sept.  1831 

Mark  Mead,  July,  1833  July,  1836 

Warner,  1837  1838 

Oliver  Broirn,  May,  1839  Feb.     1853 

Alpha  Miller,  May,  1853 

The  original  members  constituting  the  Strict  Congregational,  or  Sepa- 
rate Church  of  Grassy  Hill,  mostly  withdrew  from  the  church  of  North 
Lyme,  now  Hamburg.  This  church  united  with  the  Middlesex  Consocia- 
ation  Oct.  1834.  Their  records  were  destroyed  by  fire,  with  the  house  of 
the  first  minister.  It  is  not  known  precisely  when  the  church  was  gathered. 

A  very  interesting  revival  of  religion,  which  resulted  in  a  very  considera- 
ble addition  to  the  numbers  and  strength  of  the  church,  commenced  in  the 
winter  of  1842.  There  was  also  one  in  1858.  In  1847,  their  house  of  wor- 
ship was  remodeled.  They  have  during  a  series  of  years  received  $100  from 
the  Home  Missionary  Society.  The  whole  number  of  families  embraced  in 
the  Congregation  does  not  exceed  twenty. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.— Noah  H.  Gillett,  Sylvester  P.  Marvin,  Oliver 
Brown,  Jr.,  George  A.  Miller. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GREENFIELD,  (IN  FAIRFIELD,)  ORG.  MAY  18,  1726. 
John  Goodseli  May,    1726  April,  1756 

Seth  Pomeroy,*  Jan.     1758?  1769 

51 


394  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  M.  Tennent,t  June,  1772  Dec.     1781  1810 

Timothy  Dwight,D.  D.,J          Nov.    1783  1795  Jan.      1817 

Samuel  Blatchford,  D.  D.  ,§  1796  1797  Mar.     1828 

David  Amtin,\  1797  1798  Feb.      1831 

Horace  Holly,  D.  D.,  Sept.   1805  Sept.  1808  1827 

William  Belden,  Oct.      1812  1821 

Richard  V.  Dey,  Jan.      1823  1828  1836 

Nathaniel  Freeman,^  April,  1833  1840  June,  1854 

T.  B.  Sturges,  June,    1842 

This  church  has  had  five  houses  of  worship.  Dr.  Dwight  had  a  noted 
classical  school  at  Greenfield.  He  left  to  accept  the  Presidency  of  Yale 
College. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Aaron  Burr,  D.  D.,**  President  of  New  Jersey  Col. 

lege,  Daniel  Banks, Pomeroy. 

*  Allen,  f  Sp.  An.  3,  26.  $  Sp.  An.  2.  152,  Allen.     §  Sp.  An.  4,  158.     I  Sp.  An.  2,  195. 
Allen.    II  Allen.    **  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GREEN'S  FARMS,  (IN  WESTPORT,)  ORG.  OCT.  26,  1715. 

Daniel  Chapman,  Oct.     1715  Nov.    1741 

Daniel  Buckingham,*  Mar.    1742  May,  1766 

Hezekiah  Ripley,o.  D.,t  Feb.    1767  Aug.    1821  Nov.    1831 

Edward  W.  Hooker,  Aug.    1821  Jan.    1829 

Thomas  F.  Davies,  Oct.     1829  Aug.    1839 

DanC.  Curtiss,  June,  1840  Jan.     1843 

Giles  M.  Porter,  Dec.     1844  Mar.    1850 

Charles  Bentley,  May,    1850  May,  1858 

R.  S.  Egleston,  April,  1859 

From  the  state  records,  in  Hartford,  it  appears  that  West  Farms,  Fairfield, 
was  made  a  distinct  society  and  parish  in  May,  1711,  and  that  at  their  Octo- 
ber session,  1714,  the  General  Assembly  did  allow  the  inhabitants  of  West 
Farms,  in  Fairfield,  to  embody  themselves  into  a  Church  Estate.  The  ori- 
ginal covenant  was  subscribed  by  seven  persons  besides  Mr.  Chapman. 
There  was  no  Confession  of  Faith  distinct  from  this  Covenant,  which  as  it 
appears  to  have  been  retained,  without  alteration  or  addition  for  ninety- 
three  years,  is  here  given  : 

"  We  do,  in  the  humble  sense  of  our  deep  unworthiness  of  an  acknowledge- 
ment in  the  covenant  of  divine  grace  and  also  of  our  inability  unto  the  per- 
formance of  the  duties  of  the  holy  covenant,  through  the  strength  and  grace 
of  Christ  alone,  heartily  and  sincerely  engage  and  promise,  in  the  presence 
of  God  and  his  people,  denying  all  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  to  live  so- 
berly, righteously  and  godly  in  this  present  world,  solemnly  devoting  our- 
selves and  our  seed  unto  the  Lord,  to  be  his  people  ;  avouching  Almighty  God 
for  our  God  and  portion ;  avouching  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  our  only 
Prophet  and  Teacher,  and  for  our  only  Priest  and  Propitiation,  and  for  our 


History  of  the  Churches.  395 

only  King  and  Lawgiver  ;  avouching  the  Holy  Ghost  for  our  Sanctifier ;  pro- 
fessing our  subjection  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  that  we  will  walk  together 
in  a  conscionable  attendance  upon  all  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  and  in 
a  member-like  communion,  helpfulness,  and  watchfulness  according  unto 
Christ." 

Members  at  the  close  of  the  first  pastorate,  eighty ;  of  the  second,  seventy- 
five;  of  the  third,  one  hundred  and  thirty;  added  during  the  fourth,  nine- 
teen ;  the  fifth,  one  hundred  and  ten ;  the  sixth,  thirty-one ;  the  seventh, 
eighteen;  the  eighth,  seventy-seven.  Present  number  one  hundred  and  thirty. 

In  1831,  about  forty  were  dismissed  to  unite  in  the  formation  of  a  church 
in  the  village  of  Westport.  The  present  meeting-house  is  the  fourth  which 
has  been  erected.  The  second  was  destroyed  by  the  British  troops  in  1779, 
when  many  dwellings,  including  that  of  the  pastor,  were  consumed.  The 
third  house  of  worship  was  lost  by  accidental  conflagration  in  April,  1852. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Sherwood,  Samuel  Sturges,  William  B. 
Ripley,  Daniel  C.  Banks,  Zalmon  B.  Burr,  Enoch  F.  Burr,  William  J.  Jen- 
nings, Edward  Allen. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  648,    fSp.  An.  1.  647.  Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  GREENWICH,  ORG.  1670. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jeremiah  Peck,  1679  1689 

Abraham  Pierson,  1691  1694 

Salmon  Treat,  1695  1697 

Joseph  Morgan,  1697  1700 

Nathaniel  Bowers,  1700 

Ephraiin  Bostwick,  1730  ?  1746 

Ebenezcr  Davenport,  1767  1773 

Robert  Morris,  1785  1794 

Plait  Buffet,  1794  1796 

Simons,  1796 

Abner  Benedict,  1800 

Samuel  Sturges,  1800  1807 

John  Noyes,  1810  1824 

Charles  F.  Butler,  1824  1835 

Thomas  Payne,  May,    1837  Feb.     1842 

8.  B.  8.  Bissell,  Sept.    1842  Sept.    1853 

William  A.  Hyde,  Sept.    1854 

This  church  has  had  four  houses  of  worship.  The  first  existed  previous 
to  1694,  as  in  that  year  a  vote  was  passed  to  build  a  new  meeting-house. 
Two  others  were  successively  occupied  till  1838,  when  the  present  house 
was  erected.  For  many  years  previous  to  1835,  this  church  was  small  and 
feeble,  and  in  a  very  low  state ;  since  then  it  has  been  greatly  blessed,  and 
sustained.  As  the  fruits  of  a  revival  in  1839,  thirty-nine  were  added;  in 
1843,  thirty-two  ;  in  1855,  thirty. 


396  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  GREENWICH,  OKG.  1705. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Joseph  Morgan,  1705  Oct.     1708 

Richard  Sac kett,  1717  1727 

Stephen  Monson,  May,     1728  1733 

Abraham  Todd,  May,    1734  1773 

Jonathan  Murdock,*  June,  1774  Mar.    1785  Jan.    1813 

Isaac  Lewis,  D.  o.,t  Oct.     178G  1818  Aug.    1840 

Isaac  Lewis,  Jr.  J  Dec.     1818  1828  Sept,  1854 

Noah  C.  Saxton, 

Albert  Jud#on, 

Elam  Clark, 

Joel  Mann,  Sept.    1830  Aug.   1836 

Noah  Coe,  May,     1837  May,   1845 

Frederic  G.  Clarl; 

George  J3u»hnell, 

Ebenezer  Mead, 

Joel  H.  Linsley,  Dec.    1847 

This  church  is  located  in  the  west  part  of  the  town  of  Greenwich,  and  its 
separation  from  the  first  chxirch  appears  to  have  arisen  from  the  jealousy  of 
the  proprietors  of  the  town,  lest  the  holding  of  worship  at  Horseneck  (as  the 
west  part  was  then  called,)  should  injure  their  interests.  The  society  was 
weak  till  after  the  close  of  the  revolution,  at  which  time  tradition  says  that  the 
society  owed  £30,  and  it  was  admitted  that  the  money  was  not  in  the  place. 
Since  1793  there  has  been  a  great  increase  of  wealth  in  this  community,  so 
that  there  are  now  eleven  houses  of  worship  in  the  town,  west  of  Mianus 
river,  occupied  by  four  denominations.  A  stone  meeting-house,  the  contract 
for  which  was  $32,500,  was  built  in  1859.  There  are  few  records  of  the 
church  for  the  first  seventy  years.  In  the  revolutionary  war,  this  society 
suffered  severely,  being  between  the  British  and  American  lines  for  about 
four  years,  in  which  there  was  no  law,  but  robbery  and  plunder  ran  riot . 
the  minister  parolled  by  the  British,  and  nearly  all  the  stable  inhabitants  were 
compelled  to  flee ;  a  few  that  were  too  poor  to  remove,  remained  to  be  made  still 
poorer  or  join  the  enemy.  A  dread  of  revivals  which  grew  out  of  the  excesses 
in  the  great  revival  of  1740  has  had  an  extended  influence  down  to  the  present 
day  ;  and  yet  God  has  favored  this  church  above  many  in  this  respect,  for 
since  1816,  when  the  first  revival  after  1740  occurred,  there  have  been  revi- 
vals in  1822,  in  1828,  in  1831,  in  1839,  in  1843,  in  1850,  in  1854,  in  1858, 
besides  several  others  which  did  not  bring  so  many  into  the  church. — ReL 
7nfeZ.,13,  188;  16,  620. 

The  settlement  of  Rev.  Isaac  Lewis,  D.  D.,  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the 
events  that  turned  the  tide  in  favor  of  this  church.  His  long  faithful  min- 
istry was  the  means  of  raising  the  church  from  forty -seven  members  to  one 
hundred  and  eighty -five.  One  of  his  best  measures  was  leading  the  church 
to  abandon  the  "half-way  covenant,"  and  to  admit  only  professors  of  piety 
to  the  communion,  and  only  the  children  of  such  persons  to  baptism.  In 


History  of  the  Churches.  397 

March,  1831,  the  first  "  four  days"  or  "  protracted  meeting"  east  of  By- 
ram  river  was  held  in  this  church,  which  was  attended  with  a  great  blessing. 
MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Mark  Mead,  Samuel  Howe,  Platt  Tyler  Holley, 
Ebenezer  Mead,  /achariah  Mead,  (Epis.,)  Whitman  Peck,  John  Peck,  Isaac 
Peck.  (Epis.,)  Enoch  Mead. 

*  Allen.  Sp.  An.  2.  41.      t  Allen.  Sp.  An.  1.  662.      JAllen.  Sp.  An.  1.   667. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GREENEVILLE,  (IN  NORWICH,)  ORG.  JAN.  1,  1833. 

MINISTERS,  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Dennis  Platt,  Sept.  1832  1833 

John  Storrs,  Mar.    1834  April,  1835  1854 

Spencer  F.  Beard,}  1835  1837 

Stephen  Crosby,  (c.)  1837  June,  1838 

Alphonso  L.  Whitman,  Dec.     1838  Mar.    1846 

Charles  P.  Bush,  Dec.     184G  Jan.     1856 

K  P.  Stanton,  June,  1856 

Soon  after  the  commencement  of  works  for  the  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  the  village  in  1829,  a  prayer  meeting  was  commenced  by  brethren 
of  the  second  church.  In  1832,  when  the  inhabitants  were  multiplied,  the 
prayer  meeting  was  changed  to  a  regular  sabbath  service,  and  a  Sabbath 
School  was  gathered  in  the  autumn,  and  a  minister  employed.  A  meeting 
house,  commenced  in  1834,  was  completed  in  the  spring  of  1835.  The  Sab- 
bath School  has  here,  as  elsewhere,  proved  a  nursery  of  the  «hurch.  One  of 
its  members,  Rev.  William  Aichison  who  went  as  a  missionary  to  China  has 
fallen  at  his  post.  There  have  been  frequent  revivals,  and  in  five  several 
years  there  have  been  added  from  twenty-six  to  forty -three  members. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — William  Aichison,  (f.) 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  GRISWOLD,  ORG.  Nov.  20,  1720 

Hezekiah  Lord,  Nov.    1720  June,  1761 

Levi  Hart,  D.  D.,*  Nov.    1702  1808 

Horatio  Waldo,  t  Feb.     1810  Aug.   1828 

Spofford  D.  Jewett,  Feb.     1830  June,  1836 

AVilliam  R.  Jewett,  Dec.     1836  July,  1843 

Roswell  Whitmore,  1844  1846 

Calvin  Terry,  Nov.     1846  April,  1851 

Bennett  F.  Northrop,  July,    1853 

Dr.  Hart  was  a  man  of  eminence,  and  conducted  the  studies  of  some  the- 
ological students.  There  were  extensive  revivals  in  1820,  and  1831,  and 
more  limited  revivals  in  1852  and  1858. — Rel  Intel.  5,  376;  13,  551. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Asa  Burton,  D,  D.,}  Daniel  Haskell,§   Punderson 


398  History  of  the  Churches. 

Tyler,  Stephen  Johnson,  (f.)  Robert  Staunton,  James  Averill,  William  Clift, 
William  P.  Avery,  (h.)  Alexander  Yerington,  William  R.  Palmer. 
*  Sp.  An.  1.  590.     Allen,     t  Sp.  An.  4.  630.     %  Sp.  An  2.  140.     §  Sp.  An.  2.    526. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GROTON,  ORG.  1705. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Ephraim  Woodbridge,  Nov.     1704  1724  Dec.    1725 

John  Owen,*  Nov.     1727  1753  June,  1753 

Daniel  Kirkland,t  Dec.     1755  1758  May,    1773 

Jonathan  Barber,  Nov.     1758  1768  1783 

Aaron  Kinne,}  Oct      1769  Nov.    1798  1824 

Timothy  Tuttle,  Aug.   1811  Apr.    1834 

Jared  R.  Avery,  Oct.     1839  Apr.    1851 

George  H.  Woodward,  Oct.     1851  Jan.     185G 

Sylvester  ffine,  1856 

The  church  was  formed  from  the  church  in  New  London.  The  records 
were  destroyed,  or  disappeared,  amid  the  terrible  scenes  through  which  the 
people  here  were  called  to  pass  during  the  war  of  the  revolution,  and  the  in- 
human massacre  at  the  Fort  in  1781 ;  they  are  very  meager  till  within  the 
last  fifty  years.  The  first  house  of  worship  was  located  near  the  center  of 
the  town,  as  at  present  bounded.  A  house  of  worship  was  subsequently 
erected  three-fourths  of  a  mile  east  of  the  present  village  of  Groton,  and 
was  occupied  for  a  considerable  time  previous  to  the  Revolution,  and  after, 
till  the  present  house  in  Groton  village  was  dedicated  in  1834. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Elisha  Fish,§  Solomon  Morgan,  Colby  C.  Mitch- 
ell, (f.)  Joseph  Morgan,!  Jared  R.  Avery,  Frederick  D.  Avery. 

*  Sp.  Au.  1.  235.  Allen.  Tracy's  Great  Awak.  307-9.  t  Sp.  An.  1.  623.  Allen. 
J  Allen.  §  Mendon.  Assoc.  89.  1  Sp.  An.  3.  19. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  GUILFORD,  ORG.  June  19,  1643. 

Henry  Whitfield,*  1639  1650                       1658 

John  Higginson.t  1643  ?  1659                       1708 

John  Bowers,  1660? 

Joseph  Eliot, t  1664  May,  1694 

Thomas  Ruggles,§  Nov.  1695                                           June,  1728 

Thomas  Ruggles,  Jr.,§  Mar.  1729                                           Nov.    1770 

Amos  Fowler,||  June,  1758                                           Feb.     1800 

Israel  Brainerd,**  June,  1850            Jan.    1806            Oct.     1854 

Aaron  Dutton,ft  Dec.  1806            June,  1842            June,  1849 

E.  Edwin  Hall,  Oct.  1843            July,  1855 

Henry  Wickes,  May,  1856            July,  1858 

Wm.  S.  Smith,  May,  1859 

Mr.  Whitfield,  with  a  large  part  of  those  who  had  been  under  his  charge 


History  of  the  Churches.  399 

in  England,  began  a  settlement  in  Guilford  in  1639.  He  returned  to  Eng- 
land, and  died  at  Winchester.  Mr.  Higginson,  his  son-in-law,  was  "  teach- 
er" till  his  removal,  and  left  himself  to  return  to  England,  but  was  induced 
to  settle  at  Salem,  Mass.  Mr.  Brainerd's  ministry  of  thirty  years  at  Verona, 
N.  Y.,  was  attended  with  several  extensive  revivals.  Mr.  Dutton  was  an 
able  and  devoted  minister,  and  his  labors  were  eminently  blessed  with  sev- 
eral revivals  of  great  power.  On  taking  leave  of  the  old  meeting-house,  in 
1830,  he  stated  that  about  eight  hundred  had  professed  religion,  and  sixteen 
hundred  had  been  baptized  in  it. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jared  Eliot,  Daniel  Collins,  Timothy  Collins, 
Edmund  Ward,  Bela  Hubbard,  D.  D.  (Ep.)  Samuel  Johnson,  D.  D.  (Ep.) 
Thomas  Ruggles,  William  Seward,  Timothy  Stone,  Andrew  Fowler,  (Ep.) 
Thomas  Ruggles,  Jr.,  Joy  H.  Fairchild,§§  William  Leete,  Jr.,  Thomas  Dut- 
ton, Edwin  D.  Seward,  Theodore  A.  Leete,  Beriah  Hotchkin,  John  H.  Fow- 
er,  Henry  Robinson,  Sherman  Griswold,  (Bap.)  S.  W  S.  Dutton,  D.  D.,  Mar- 
tin Dudley. 

*Math.  Mag.  1.  541.  Sp.  An.  1.  10.  Allen,  f  Sp.  An.  1.  91.  Allen.  JSp.  An. 
1.22.  Allen.  §  Sp.  An.  1.  261.  Allen.  |  Sp.  An.  1.383.  **Cong.  Y.  B.  2.89. 
ttSp.  An.  2.  489.  Allen.  }I  Sp.  An.  3.497.  §§Sp.  An.  3.  497.  §§  Cong. 
Quar.  1.  314. 


THE  THIRD  CHURCH  IN  GUILFORD,  ORG.  Nov.  23.  1843. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIKD. 

David  Root,  Jan.      1845  April,  1851 

R.  M.  Chipman,  Jan.     1852  May,  1858 

Geo.  I.  Wood,  Nov.    1858 

This  church  was  formed  by  a  secession  from  the  First  Church.  The 
church  in  Madison  (East  Guilford,)  was  formerly  the  Third  Church  ;  that 
at  North  Guilford  being  the  Second;  and  a  church  formed  in  1773,  (now 
extinct,  on  account  of  the  disagreement  of  a  large  majority  of  the  First 
Church  in  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Ruggles,  Jr.,)  having  been  the  Fourth  in 
Guilford. 


The  Fourth  Church  in  Guilford,  Org.  1733. 
Edmund  Ward,  Sept.   1733  1735 

Joseph  Lamb, 

James  Sprout,  D.  D.,*  April,  1743  Oct.     1768  1793 

John  Hunt,  1769?  1771 

Daniel  Brewer,  Sept.  1771  1778 

Beriah  Ilotchkin,  Aug.   1785  1790?  1829 

This  church  was  formed  by  reason  of  a  controversy  arising  in  1729,  with 
reference  to  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Ruggles,  Jr.  A  meeting-house  was 
erected  in  1730.  Dr.  Sprout,  after  an  able  and  prosperous  ministry,  wag 


400  History  of  the  Churches 

re-settled  in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Hotchkin,  after  a  few  years,  removed  to 
Western  New  York,  where  he  was  eminently  useful  in  preaching  and  plant- 
ing new  churches.  The  church  became  extinct  soon  after  1800.  See  Trum- 
bulFi  History,  Vol.  2,  Chap.  7,  p.  114. 

*  Sp.  An.  8.  125. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HADDAM,  ORO.    1700. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jonathan  Willowle, 

Nicholas  Noy es*  1668  1682 

John  James,  1686 

Jeremiah  Hobart,t  1690,  inst.  Nov.  1700  Nov.    1715 

Phinehas  Fiske,  Sept.  1714  Oct.     1738 

Aaron  Cleaveland,  July,  1739  1746  1757 

Joshua  Elderkin,  June,  1749  1753 

Eleazar  May,t  June,  1756  April,  1803 

David  D.  Field,  D.  D.  April,  1804  April,  1818 

John  Marsh,  Dec.    1818  April,  1834 

Tertius  S.  Clark,  April,  1834  Feb.    1837 

David  D.  Field,  D.  D.  April,  1837  April,  1844 

Elisha  W,  Cook,  Nov.    1846  April,  1852 

Erastm  Colton,  Dec.    1852  May,    1854 

James  L.  Wright,  May,    1855 

As  no  church  records  exist  in  Haddam  of  an  earlier  date  than  1756,  it 
cannot  be  determined  with  certainty  when  the  church  was  organized ;  it  is 
supposed  to  have  been  at  the  time  of  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Hobart.  Some 
circumstances,  however,  lead  to  a  belief  that  it  was  done  at  a  much  earlier 
period.  Public  worship  appears  to  have  been  observed  from  the  first  set- 
tlement. For  a  time  the  people  met  in  a  private  house.  The  first  meeting- 
house was  built  in  1673-4;  the  second  in  1721  ;  the  third  in  1770-1,  (still 
standing  ;)  the  present  house  in  1847. 

The  first  preacher  here  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  the  records  of  the 
town,  was  Mr.  Jonathan  Willowbe.  In  1668,  Mr.  Nicholas  Noyes  began  to 
preach  here,  and  continued  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  ;  though  it  is  said  he 
was  not  ordained.  Mr.  John  James  preached  here  as  early  as  1686.  How 
long  he  continued  is  unknown.  Mr.  Hobart  came  to  Haddam  in  1690  or 
1691.  "As  he  had  been  consecrated  to  the  ministry  before,"  the  people 
seem  to  have  recognized  him  as  their  minister  without  a  formal  installation. 
In  1695,  they  voted  that  they  did  not  consider  themselves  under  the  charge 
of  Mr.  Hobart  as  pastor;  and  "  that  with  the  consent  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, and  the  approbation  of  the  neighboring  churches,  they  would  em  • 
body  in  church  way,  and  order,  according  to  the  gospel."  Mr.  Hobart  was, 
however,  not  installed  till  November,  1700. 


History  of  the  Churches.  401 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — David  Brainerd,^  John  Brainerd,!  Hezekiah  May, 
Elijah  Brainerd,  Jonathan  Hubbard,  Eleazar  Brainerd,  Charles  Dickinson, 
Henry  Field,  Chiliab  Brainerd,  Nehemiah  Brainerd,  Israel  Brainerd,  Israel 
Brainerd,  2d,  James  Brainerd,  Israel  Shailer,  Davis  S.  Brainerd,  Dan.  C.  Tyler. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  HI.  Allen.  fSp.  An.  1.  69.  Allen.  JSp.  An.  1.  414.  Allen.  §  Sp. 
An.  3.  113.  Allen.  |  Sp.  An.  149, 


THK  CHUKCH  IN  HADLYME,  is  EAST  HADDAM,  ORO.  JUNK  26,  1745. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Grindall  Rawson,*  Sept.  1745  Mar.    1777 

Joseph  Vaill,f  Feb.    1780  Nov.    1838 

Ralph  S.  Crampton,  May,   1832  Nov.    1834 

George  Carrington,  J  Feb.    1835  Feb.     1843  1843? 

Stephen  A.  Loper,  Mar.  1842,  inst.  May,  1845,  June,  1850 
Wm.  Goodie  in, 
James  Noyes, 
Elias  B.  Hillard,  Mar.    1855  1860 

Hadlyme  lies  partly  in  East  Haddara,  and  partly  in  Lyme ;  whence  its 
name;  the  society  was  formed  Nov.  1742.  Mr.  Rawson  was  a  plain  preach- 
er, gifted  in  prayer,  remarkably  social,  and  had  an  uncommon  talent  in  recon- 
ciling parties  at  variance.  Mr.  Vaill  was  a  man  eminent  in  goodness,  of 
substantial  character,  a  faithful  preacher,  a  devoted  pastor,  and  a  man  of 
God.  He  conducted  a  school  in  his  house  for  many  years,  where  were  in- 
structed many  men  who  became  eminent  in  church  and  state,  among  whom 
were  his  own  sons,  Joseph  and  Wm.  F.  Vaill,  and  Griffin,  Harvey,  Hunger- 
ford,  and  others.  There  is  no  record  of  a  revival  till  1808.  In  1813  a  revival 
began,  which  continued  two  years,  adding  30;  66  in  1827;  also  revivals  in 
1846,  '54,  and  '58.  The  half-way  covenant  was  practiced  till  the  time  of 
Mr.  Vaill.  The  first  meeting-house  was  erected  in  1843 ;  the  second  in 
1840.  NettletorCs  Mem.  67.  Rel  Intel.  13,  61. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Harvey,  D.  D.,  Joseph  Vaill,  D.  D.,  Wm. 
F.  Vaill,  (h.) 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  168.    Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  4.  26.     %  Litchf.  Centen.  117. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  HAMBURG,  IN  LYME,  ORO.  (PROBABLY)  IN  1727. 
George  Beck  with,  Jan.     1730  Dec.    1785 

David  Higgins,  Oct.     1787  1801 

David  Huntington,  Dec.     1803  April,  1812 

Asahel  Nettleton,  April,  1813  May,    1844 

Josiah  Hawes,  Nov.    1814  Jan.     1833 

Harvey  Bmhnell,  Jan.     1835  April,  1838 

Philip  Payton,  Oct     1838  Oct     1841 

52 


402  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Charles  E.  Murdock,  June,  1842  Jan.    1844 

James  A.  Moore,  1844 

Daniel  C.  Tyler,  Oct.     1844  Oct.     1845 

Samuel  Griswold,  Oct.     1845  Sept.   1848 

E.  F.  Burr,  Oct.     1850 

Before  the  division  of  the  town,  this  was  the  third  church  in  Lyme  ;  now 
the  first.  After  Mr.  Huntington's  death,  the  pulpit  was  supplied  one  year 
by  the  Middlesex  Association.  There  was  a  revival  under  Mr.  Xettleton's  la- 
bors, attended  with  great  solemnity  and  deep  conviction  of  sin,  promoted  by 
the  preaching  of  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  gospel ;  3 1  added.  Me- 
moir, 67.  Also  in  April,  1824,  a  work  of  divine  grace  commenced  under  the 
ministration  of  Rev.  Xoah  C.  Saxton,  progressed  rapidly,  and  forty-eight 
were  added,  four  of  whom  entered  the  ministry.  In  April,  1831,  Rev.  War- 
ren G.  Jones  commenced  assisting  Mr.  Hawes,  and  a  powerful  revival  fol- 
lowed, adding  forty-five  to  the  church.  There  was  also  a  revival  in  the 
winter  of  1836,  and  there  have  been  two  within  the  last  ten  years.  Rel.  In- 
tel. 9.  175. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — David  Ely,  D.  D.,  Zebulon  Ely,  John  Ely,  Elias 
P.  Ely,  Daniel  M.  Lord,  L.  F.  T.  Huntington,  Richard  Ely,  Samuel  Ely, 
Zabdiel  R.  Ely,  Joseph  T.  Lord,  Abijah  P.  Marvin,  George  W.  Sill. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HAMDEN,  EAST  PLAINS,  ORG.  AUG.  18,  1775. 

Abraham  Ailing,  Oct.     1797  Oct.     1822  July,  1837 

George  E.  Delavan,  May,    1833  Aug.   1834 

Austin  Putnam,  Oct.     1838 

For  many  years,  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Ailing,  the  church  enjoyed  a 
good  degree  of  prosperity.  At  the  time  of  his  dismission,  it  was  afflicted 
and  weakened  by  divisions.  During  16  years  after  his  dismission,  the 
church  was  served  by  more  than  two  hundred  different  ministers.  These 
were  years  of  severe  trial  to  this  little  flock  of  Christ.  They  were  few, 
poor  and  feeble.  They  had  no  pastor,  no  place  of  worship  that  was  con- 
venient, no  parsonage,  no  fund.  They  feared  that  they  should  be  obliged  to 
disband  and  go  to  other  churches.  They  had  many  a  communion  season, 
which  they  thought  might  be  their  last.  They  could  pay  only  two  dollars  a 
Sabbath  for  preaching.  But  a  few,  faithful  brethren,  held  on.  The  church 
still  lives,  having  a  comfortable  house  of  worship,  and  a  parsonage,  and  has 
been  self-supporting  fifteen  years,  paying  a  good  salary,  and  $150  to  $200  to 
benevolent  objects,  although  there  has  been  but  little  increase  of  business 
or  population. 


History  of  the  Churches.  403 

THE  CHURCH  IN  HAMPTON,  ORO.,  JUNE  5,  1723. 
MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  Billings,  June,  1723  May,      1733 

Samuel  Moseley,*  May,   1734  July,     1791 

Ludovicus  Weld,  Oct     1792  March,  1824         Oct       1844 

Daniel  G.  Sprague,  May,  1824  April,    1839 

Daniel  C.  Frost,  Sept.  1840  Oct.       1841 

William  Barnes,  Sept.  1842  Sept.     1847 

Richard  Woodruff,  Feb.    1848  April,   1852 

George  Soule,  Sept  '53.  ord.   Sept.  1855 

This  Church  was  called  the  church  in  Windham  Village,  then  the  Second  or 
Canada  Society  Church,  until  the  town  (Hampton,)  was  incorporated.  It 
consisted  of  a  colony  of  29  persons  from  the  church  in  Windham.  It  has  re- 
cently refitted  its  house  of  worship  and  received  to  itself  a  large  number 
of  new  members  as  the  results  of  the  great  revival  of  1858.  Rel.  Intel.  16, 
476. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Ebenezer  Moseley,  Charles  Fitch,  A.  C.  Denison, 
Ludovicus  Robbins,  Joseph  Stewart. 

*Sp.  An.  1,446.     Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HANOTER,  IN  LISBON,  ORG.  MAY  13,  1766. 
Timothy  Stone,*  Oct.    1765  1766         May,      1797 

Andrew  Lee,  D.  D.,t  Oct.    1768  Aug.      1832 

Barnabas  Phinney,  Feb.    1830  Nov.      1832 

Philo  Judson,  June,  1833  July,     1834 

Daniel  Waldo, 
Edward  Cleaveland, 

Joseph  Ayer,  Sept.  1837  June,    1848 

Ebenezer  W.  Robinson,  Mar.   1849  April,    1852 

James  A.  Hazen,  Dec.    1852 

The  Hanover  Ecclesiastical  Society  in  Lisbon  was  incorporated  in  1761,  in- 
cluding small  portions  of  Canterbury  and  Windham.  A  fund  of  £1400 
was  raised  by  subscription  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  ministry  before  the 
incorporation  of  the  Society.  The  church  at  its  formation  consisted  of 
fourteen  members.  It  has  been  greatly  blessed  by  revivals. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Ezra  Witter,  Horace  Bushnell,  James  Abel,  An- 
son  P.  Brooks,  Charles  L.  Ayer. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  631.    Allen,    f  Sp.  An.  1,  668.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HANOVER,  IN  MERIDEN,  ORG.  FEB.  13,  1853. 
James  A.  Clarl;  Dec.  1853  April,    1855 

Jacob  Eaton,  May,  1857 


404  History  of  the  Churches. 

Early  in  the  year  1852  members  of  different  Congregational  Churches  re- 
siding in  Hanover,  and  attending  worship  at  the  chapel  opened  for  that  pur- 
pose, began  to  contemplate  the  organization  of  a  Church;  it  had  at  first  25 
members.  This  church  has  been  repeatedly  blessed  with  the  outpouring  of 
God's  Spirit. 

In  the  Spring  of  1857  a  most  powerful  work  of  grace  was  enjoyed,  and 
32  persons  united  with  the  church. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  HARTFOHD,  ORO.  1633. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMTSSKI).  DIED. 

Thomas  Hooker,*  Oct.  1633  July,     1647 

Samuel  Stone, t  Oct.  1633  July,     1663 

John  Whiting,  J  1660  Nov.      1689 

Joseph  Haynes,§  1664  Alay,     1679 

Isaac  Foster,  1679  Jan.      1683 

Timothy  Woodbridge, I)  Nov.  1685  April,    1732 

Daniel  Wadsworth,!T  Sept.  1732  Nov.      1747 

Edward  Dorr,**  Apr.  1748  Oct.       1772 

Nathan  Strong,  D.  n.,tt  Jan.  1774  Dec.      1816 

Joel  Hawes,  D.  D.,  Mar.  1818 

This  Church  was  originally  gathered  in  Newtown,  (now  Cambridge)  Mass., 
and  was  duly  organized  by  the  installation  of  Thomas  Hooker  as  pastor, 
and  Samuel  Stone  as  teacher,  Oct.  llth,  1633.  It  is  supposed  that  William 
Goodwin  was  ordained  as  ruling  elder,  and  Andrew  Warner  as  deacon  at  the 
same  time. 

In  June,  1636,  Messrs.  Hooker  and  Stone,  with  about  one  hundred  of  their 
people,  removed  to  this  place.  Here  the  Church  was  permanently  planted, 
being  the  first  Church  established  in  Connecticut ;  and  here  the  ordinances 
of  the  gospel  have  been  regularly  administered  from  that  time  to  the  present. 

This  Church  embraced  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the  Churches  of  the 
City,  of  East  Hartford,  and  of  West  Hartford. 

Mr.  Woodbridge  was  a  member  of  the  Say  brook  Synod,  1708. 
We  give  a  list  of  Churches  formed  from  this  Church  wholly  or  in  part ;  viz  : 

South  Church,  Feb.,  1669,  31  members;  East  Hartford,  May  1702 ;  West 
Hartford,  Feb.  1713;  North  Church,  Sept.  1824,  97  members;  Fourth 
Church,  Jan.  1832,  18  members;  Pearl  Street  Church,  Oct.  1852,  47  mem- 
bers. See  Dr.  Hawes's  (centennial  Discourse,  1836 ;  "  First  Church  in 
Connecticut"  Dr.  Hawes's  Address  at  Norwich,  page  85  (supra  ;)  also  His- 
tory of  the  Church  in  Windsor,  (infra,)  which  also  claims  to  be  the  first 
Church  in  Connecticut.  Ev.  Mag.  8,  263,  470. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Thomas  H.  Gallaudet,J}  James  Anderson,  Algernon 
S.  Kennedy,  Anson  Gleason,  (f.)  Reuben  Tinker,§§  (f.)  Alfred  Wright,  Benj.  B. 
Wright,  H.  J.  Yan  Lennep,  (f.)  Shearjashub  Bourne,  George  Thacher,  Jona- 
than Brace,  D.  D.,  Asa  T.  Hopkins,  D.  D.,|||  Douglas  K.  Turner,  Josiah  H. 


History  of  the  Churches.  405 

Temple,  Charles  O.    Reynolds,  William  Bird,  (f. )  Krskine  J.  Hawes,  John 
Willard,  William  U.  Colt,  Chester  Isham,Vi  Murshtteld  Steele,*** 

*Sp.  An.  1,34.  Math.  Mag.  1,  802.  t  Sp.  An.  1,  37.  Math.  Mag  1,392.  JSp.  An. 
1,  ls-J.  Allen.  $  Dr.  Bacon's  Historical  Discourse,  supru,  24-25.  |  Allen.  •[  Allen. 
**Sp.  An.  1,387.  Allen,  ft  Sp.  An.  2,  34.  Allen.  Am.  Qr.  Reg.  13,  129.  ftSp. 
An.  2,  609.  Allen.  §§  Sp.  An.  4,  770.  ||Sp.  An.  4,  741.  ^iHSp.  An.  2,  704.  **»Sp. 
An.  2,  347. 


THE  SOUTH  CHURCH,  HARTFORD,  ORO.  FEB.  12,  1669. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Whiting,  Feb.   1669  1689 

Thomas  Buckingham,*  1690  1730 

Elnathan  Whitman,!  1733  March,  1777 

Will  Jam  Patten,  t  July,  1767  1773        Jan.       1775 

Benjamin  Boardman,§  1784  Feb.      1802 

Abel  Flint,  D.  D.,||  Apr.  1791  Jan.      1824 

Joel  II.  Linsley,  D.  D.  Feb.   1824  Aug.     1832 

C.  C.  Vanarsdalen,  Dec.  1832  March,  1836 

Oliver  E.  Daggett,  D.  D.  Apr.   1837  June,     1843 

Walter  Clark,  D.  D.,  June,  1845  Jan.      1859 

Edwin  P,  Parker,  Jan.     1860 

During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Whiting  and  Mr.  Haynes,  joint  pastors  of  the 
First  Church,  some  difference  of  opinion  arose,  which  resulted  in  a  regular 
and  amicable  division  of  the  Church.  The  senior  pastor  and  31  members 
withdrew  and  formed  this  Church.  Mr.  Whitman  recovering  his  health, 
was  sole  pastor  about  4  years.  During  the  troubles  of  the  Revolutionary 
war  from  '77  to  '84,  there  was  no  pastor. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — William  Patten,  Jr.  D.  D.,  John  A.  Hempsted, 
Andrew  Benton,  Albert  Smith,  Charles  Rockwell,  W.  H.  Corning,  Charles 
N.  Seymour,  Elijah  P.  Barrows,  Charles  E.  Linsley. 

*Sp.  An.  1,  260.  Allen.  tSp.  An.  1.315.  JSp.  An.  1,  592.  Allen.  §Sp.  An. 
1,513.  |  Sp.  An.  2,  278.  Allen. 


THE  NORTH  CHURCH,  HARTFORD,  ORG.  SEPT.  23,  1824. 

Carlos  Wilcox,'  Dec.  1824  May,     1826        May,     1827 

Samuel  Spring,  D.  D.  Mar.  1827  Jan.       1833 

Horace  Bushnell,  D.  D.,  May,  1833  Nov.      1859 

James  T.  Hyde,  July,  1855  April,    1857 

George  N.  Webber,  Nov.  1859 

Organized  by  a  Colony  from  the  Center  Church  of  Hartford.  It  has  had 
a  steady  and  vigorous  growth ;  and  especially  under  the  ministry  of  Dr. 
Bushnell,  enjoyed  great  prosperity,  both  in  the  increase  of  the  congregation 
and  of  the  Church.  • 


406  History  of   the  Churches, 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Erastus  Col  ton,  Henry  N.  Day,  Tryon  Edwards, 
D.  D.,  John  Erskine  Edwards,  James  M.  Smith,  Aaron  L.  Chapin. 

*  Sp.  An.  2,  653.     Allen. 


THE  FOURTH  CHURCH  IN  HARTFORD,  ORG.  JAN.  10,  1832. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  C.  Walton,  Jan.    1833  Feb.    1834 

Charles  Fitch,  June,  1834  May, 

Isaac  N.  Sprague,  Oct.     1837  Oct. 

William  W.  Patton,  Jan.     1846  Dec. 

Nathaniel  J.  Burton,  Oct.     1857 

The  original  members  of  the  Fourth  Church  numbered  thirty-three.  The 
organization  grew  out  of  efforts  to  bring  the  gospel  to  bear  more  effectively 
on  the  mass  of  the  people.  To  encourage  the  attendance  of  the  poor,  the 
"free  seat  plan"  was  tried  for  several  years,  after  which  it  was  abandoned 
as  not  securing  a  self-supporting  Church,  and  as  therefore  endangering  the 
safety  of  the  enterprise.  The  Church  worshiped  for  about  two  years  in  the 
old  Baptist  Church  in  Market  Street,  now  Washington  Hall  ;  in  1835,  re- 
moved to  a  new  house  they  had  built,  now  the  Melodeon ;  and  in  1 850  to 
their  present  edifice.  The  Church  has  been  greatly  blessed  with  revivals, 
and  is  now  one  of  the  largest  in  the  State. 


THE  "  COLORED  "  (FIFTH  OR  TALCOTT  ST.)  CHURCH,  HARTFORD,  ORG.  1833. 
John  A.  Hempsted,  June,  1837  Aug.     1838 

E.  R.  Tyler,  1839  1840          Sept.     1848 

J.  W.  C.  Pennington,  D.  D.     July,  1840  Nov.      1847 

J.  A.  Prime,  Nov.    1849  May,     1851 

C.  W.  Gardner,  May,   1851  Mar.      1853 

J.  W.  C.  Pennington,  1855 

Samuel  Grivwold,  1855  1856 

E.  J.  Adams,  Aug.   1857  Aug.      1858 

Joseph  D.  Hull,  1859 

The  name  of  this  Church  was  changed  by  vote,  August,  1837,  from  "Af- 
rican," to  "Colored  Congregational  Church."  It  was  consociated  with 
Hartford  South,  August,  1837.  It  has  had  but  one  settled  pastor. 

The  Church  has  a  fund  yielding  about  $100  annually,  a  legacy  from  Cath- 
arine Freebody,  a  worthy  colored  woman  of  Hartford. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — E.  P.  Rogers,  Amos  G.  Beman. 


History  of  the  Churches.  407 

THE  PEARL  STREET  CHURCH  IN  HARTFORD,  ORO.  OCT.  15, 1852. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Elias  R.  Beadle,       ,  Dec.  1852 

The  Pearl  Street  Church  was  formed  from  members  of  the  four  Congrega- 
tional Churches  in  Hartford,  who,  with  some  others,  were  duly  constituted 
a  Christian  Church,  with  appropriate  religious  services,  in  the  edifice  recent- 
ly erected  by  the  Pearl  Street  Congregational  Society,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
completing  its  ecclesiastical  organization.  The  whole  number  of  members 
was  ninety -one,  viz :  forty -six  males,  and  forty-five  females. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Theodore  J.  Holmes. 


The  Market  Street  Ckurch,  Hartford,  Org.  Jan.  8,  1854. 
Warren  G.  Jones,  April,  1853  April,    1858 

Organized  with  twenty-four  members,  after  sustaining  public  worship 
nine  months.  It  adopted  the  free  Church  system,  but  proved  fully  in  five 
years  not  to  be  self-sustaining,  and  though  remarkably  blessed  in  the 
outward  reformation  and  hopeful  conversion  of  many,  (147  being  added  to 
their  number  in  four  years,)  was  disbanded. 


THE  GERMAN  MISSION,  HARTFORD. 
lienner,  1848 


J.  Conrad  JBuenner,  1849 

Christopher  Popp,  1850 

John  Kilian,  1855 

F.  M.  Serenbete,  1856 

Without  a  Church  organization,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  among  resi- 
dents of  German  origin  aided  by  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  has 
been  productive  of  good.  There  is  also  a  German  congregation  connected 
with  another  denomination.  H.  S.  Ollendorf,  a  converted  Jew,  of  German 
origin,  a  member  of  Dr.  Hawes's  Church,  not  a  licensed  minister,  labored  a 
few  months  in  1858-9,  among  the  Germans  in  Broad  Brook,  Ellington  and 
Rockville,  with  favorable  prospects,  but  was  cut  off  by  an  early  death. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  HARTLAND,  (EAST,)  ORG.  MAY  1,  1768. 

Starling  Graves,*  July,  1768  1773 

Aaron  Church,  Oct     1773  1815          April,  1823 

Ammi  Linsley,  July,  1815  Dec.      1835 

Aaron  Gates,  1836  1841          Mar.     1849 

J.  C.  ffoughton,  1843  1845 

Nelson  Scott,  Sept.  1846  June,    1857 


408  History  of  the  Churches. 


MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Ogden  Hall,  Oct.    1858  1859 

Alfred   White,  1859  1860 

Hartland  was  incorporated  in  176 1.  It  then  belonged  to  Litchfield  County, 
but  was  afterwards  annexed  to  Hartford  County.  It  is  centrally  divided  by  a 
branch  of  the  Farmington  River,  and  two  Congregational  Churches  were 
early  formed  in  the  east  and  west  divisions  of  the  town, — the  one  in  West 
Hartland  twelve  years  after  this  Church.  Mr.  Graves  was  ordained  in  the 
open  air,  on  a  knoll  about  a  mile  south  of  the  present  church.  The  first 
Church  edifice  was  erected  in  1770. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Salmon  Giddings,  (h.)  Lewis  Poster,  Orson 
Cowles,  Elisha  C.  Jones,  Lemuel  Foster,  Anson  McCloud,  Chas.  L.  Loomis. 

*  Sp.  Au.  2.  229. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HAKWINTON,  ORG.  OCT.  4,  1738. 
Timothy  Woodbridge,  Jr.  1735  1737 

Andrew  Bartholomew,  Oct.  1738  Jan.      1774        March,  1776 

David  Perry,*  Feb.  1774  Dec.      1783         June,    1817 

Joshua  Williams,t  Mar.  1790  Jan.       1822         Feb.      1835 

George  Pierce,  July,  1822  June,    1834 

R.  M.  Chipman,  Mar.  1835  March,  1839 

Charles  Bentley,  Sept.  1839  Jan.      1850 

Warren  G.  Jones,  Oct    1850  June,    1853 

Jacob  G.  Miller,  July,  1854  May,     1857 

John  A.  McKinstry,  Oct.    1857 

The  ministry  of  Mr.  Bartholomew  was,  so  far  as  appears,  generally  pros- 
perous, though  not  accompanied  with  those  manifestations  of  divine  power 
that  have  been  witnessed  since.  Under  his  ministry  the  Half-way  Coven- 
ant was  adopted.  Mr.  Perry  opposed  it;  was  truly  an  evangelical  man,  and 
his  labors  were  blessed  by  the  Divine  Spirit. 

Since  1774,  in  six  revivals  there  were  added  from  20  to  85  ;  in  five  others, 
from  96  to  150  each.  Ev.  Mag.  1,462. 

Under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Williams  commenced  that  series  of  revivals 
which  crowned  the  closing  years  of  the  last  and  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century.  Mr.  Williams  was  ordained  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian 
Church,  Southampton,  L.  I.,  Dec.,  1784.  Mr.  Pierce  was  dismissed  to  become 
President  of  Western  Reserve  College.  See  Chipman's  History  of  the  town. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Norris  Bull,  D.  o.,J  Richard  Chester,  David  But- 
ler, D.  D.,  Jacob  Catlin,§  Russell  Catlin,  Simeon  Catlin,  Clement  Merriam, 
David  Perry,  (h.;  Rodney  Rossiter,  (Ep.)  H.  C.  Abernethy,  (h.)  Abner  Wil- 
cox,  (lay  missionary.) 

*Sp.  An.  2,  303.  t  Litchfield  Ccnten.  114.  1  Sp.  An.  4,615.  §  Sp.  An.  2,  260. 
Allen. 


History  of  the  Churches.  409 

THE  CHURCH  IN  HEBRON,  ORO.  1717. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Terry,  1714 

John  Bliss,  1715,  ord.  Nov.  1717  1734 

Benjamin  Porneroy,*         1734,  ord.  1735  Dec.      1784 

Samuel  Kellogg,  June,  1788  July,     1793 

Amos  Bassett,  D.  o.,f  Nov.    1794  Sept.     1824  1828 

Lyman  Strong,  Aug.    1825  Feb.      1830 

Hiram  P.  Anns,  June,  1830  Sept.     1832 

Moses  T.  Harris,  Jan.     1834  Jan.       1835 

Sylvester  Selden,  Sept.    1835  May,     1841  Get     1841 

Edgar  J.  Doolittle,  May,    1842  Dec.      1852 

William  M.  Bir chard,  April,  1853  April,    1854 

Merrick  Knight,  June,  1854  June,     1830 

The  first  settlement  was  in  1704.  In  1712,  the  town  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  procure  a  minister.  In  1714,  the  town  passed  votes  making 
grants  of  land  to  the  first  minister,  (170  acres,)  and  "ordered  that  three  or 
four  acres  be  broken  up  and  sowed  with  wheat,  for  the  encouragement  of  a 
minister  settling  among  us,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  inspect  the  afore- 
said affair." 

Public  worship,  until  the  erection  of  a  meeting  house,  was  held  in  private 
houses  and  in  a  new  tarn,  where  fourteen  children  were  baptized  in  one 
day.  The  people  disagreeing  about  the  site  for  the  meeting  house,  it  was 
fixed  by  a  committee  of  the  General  Assembly ;  soon  after  the  house  was 
raised,  but  it  was  not  completed  for  several  years. 

Mr.  Pomeroy's  salary  was  to  be  paid  "  in  grain,  or  as  grain  goes  in  market," 
but  in  a  few  years  the  '•  Old  Tenor"  currency  of  the  country  became 
very  much  depreciated,  so  that  in  the  year  1747,  he  received  for  his  salary 
of  £100  lawful  money,  £420  of  depreciated  money,  payable  in  corn  at  12 
shillings  per  bushel,  pork  at  18  pence,  and  beef  at  11  pence  per  pound,  and 
in  another  year  £685,  and  £85  to  get  his  fire  wood. 

In  1733  we  find  records  of  a  movement  for  a  division  of  the  town  into 
two  Ecclesiastical  Societies,  resulting  in  1747,  in  setting  off  Andover  and 
Gilead. 

An  incendiary,  Moses  Hutchinson,  set  fire  to  the  meeting  house  and  it  was 
burnt  in  Oct.,  1747.  He  was  prosecuted  and  committed  to  jail,  and  after 
wards  sold  into  service  to  Samuel  Gilbert,  Esq.,  to  pay  damages  and  costs. 
The  present  edifice  was  erected  in  1828. 

It  is  recorded  of  Mr.  Kellogg,  that  he  was  ordained  by  the  Rev.  President 
Stiles  and  others,  by  the  style  and  title  of  Bishop.  Dr.  Bassett  was  dis- 
missed to  take  charge  of  the  Foreign  Mission  School  at  Cornwall.  The 
practice  of  half  way  membership  was  continued  until  1793,  there  being  as 
many  as  60  thus  received. 

The  history  of  the  Church  does  not  appear  to  have  been  marked  by  any 
particular  seasons  of  general  religious  interest  until  1817,  which  with  1824 


4 1 0  History  of  the  Churches. 

and  1831,  are  to  be  remembered  for  a  general  and  powerful  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit.     Bel.  Intel.  16,  156. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Ambrose  Porter,  David  Porter,  D.  D.,*  Aaron 
Hutchinson,  Oliver  Noble,  Benjamin  Trumbull,  Jacob  Sherwin,  John  Saw- 
yer,§  Amasa  Porter,  Flavel  Bliss,  Ralph  Perry,  Alfred  White,  Moses  Smith. 

*Sp.  An.  1,394.  Allen,  f  Sp.  An.  2,  294.  Allen.  JSp.  An.  3,  496.  §  Cong. 
Y.  B.  6,131. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HIGOANUM,  IN  HADDAM,  ORO.  MAY  1,     1844. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DLBD. 

David  D.  Field,  D.  D.,  May,    1844  June,    1850 

/Stephen  A.  Loper,  July,    1850  June,    1856 

Charles  Nichols,  April,  1857 

The  Tillage  of  Higganum  is  in  the  town  of  Haddam.  The  members  of  the 
Church  and  Society  formerly  belonged  to  the  First  Church  and  Society  in 
Haddam ;  a  division  of  that  being  effected,  it  resulted  in  the  formation 
of  this. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HITCHCOCKVILLE,  IN  BARKHAMSTED,  ORG.  APRIL  19,  1842. 
Luther  H.  Barber,  Oct.  1843 

The  Church  at  its  organization  consisted  of  53  members.  There  was  a 
revival  in  1857-8.  The  pastor  commenced  his  labors  in  June,  1842, 
there  being  then  no  house  of  worship  ;  the  use  of  the  Episcopal  House 
being  allowed  them  every  alternate  Sabbath,  about  one  year.  The  Church 
was  dedicated  at  the  time  of  the  ordination. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  HUNTINGTON,  (FORMERLY  RIPTON,)  ORG.  FEB.  12,  1724. 
Jedediah  Mills,*  Feb.    1724  Jan.     1776 

David  Ely,  D.  o.,t  Oct.     1773  Feb.    1816 

Thomas  F.  Davies,  Mar.  1817  July,     1818 

Thomas  Punderson,  Nov.  1818  Jan.       1844  Aug.    1848 

Charles  N.  Seymour,  June,  1844  July,     1847 

Eliakim  Phelps,  D.  D.,  Nov.  1847  March,  1849 

William  B.  Curtiss,  Feb.    1850  June,    1857 

John  Blood,  Sept.  1858 

The  Church  was  organized  with  92  members.  During  Dr.  Ely's  ministry 
there  were  additions  by  profession  every  year,  except  six  ;  in  all  158.  Dr. 
Ely  instructed  and  prepared  many  young  mtn  for  college  and  also  for  the 
ministry.  The  Panoplist  contains  a  sketch  of  his  life  and  character. 


History  of  the  Churches.  411 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Half  Way  Covenant  which  stands  upon 
the  records  of  the  Church  at  the  date  of  1773,  which  was  done  away  in 
1817:— 

"  You  do  now,  before  God  and  these  witnesses,  avouch  the  Lord  Jehovah 
to  be  your  covenant  God  and  Father,  viewing  yourself  under  solemn  bonds 
and  obligations  to  be  the  Lord's  by  your  baptismal  vows.  You  do,  so  far 
as  you  know  your  own  heart,  make  choice  of  Jesus  Christ  to  be  your  only 
Saviour  and  Redeemer,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  your  Sanctifier,  solemnly 
engaging  to  serve  the  Lord  and  him  only,  as  he  shall  by  his  grace  enable 
you ;  that  you  will  deny  ^ill  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts ;  that  you  will  be 
careful  to  keep  a  conscience  void  of  offense,  so  as  to  do  honor  to  God  and 
the  rejigion  you  profess ;  that  you  will  endeavor  by  strength  from  God  to 
walk  in  all  his  commandments  and  ordinances  blameless,  desiring  to  put 
yourself  under  the  watch  and  care  of  this  Church,  to  be  trained  up  in  the  school 
of  Christ  for  his  heavenly  kingdom ;  promising  also  that  you  will  give  up 
your  children  to  God  in  baptism,  and  to  bring  them  up  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  to  attend  upon  all  the  ordinances  of  Christ  as  administered  in 
this  place  ;  also  that  it  is  your  full  purpose  to  obey  God  in  the  ordinance  of 
the  Holy  Supper  as  God  shall  give  you  light,  and  show  you  his  will  herein. 
And  you  covenant,  and  you  promise,  relying  for  help,  strength  and  ability 
on  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  to  perform  all  and  every  duty  to 
the  praise  and  glory  of  God." 

During  Mr.  Punderson's  ministry  of  26  years,  28  persons  were  admitted 
to  the  Church  by  letter,  and  186  by  profession  ;  214  in  all. 

Rev.  Jedediah  Mills  was  a  warm  hearted  divine,  and  entered  fully  into  the 
spirit  and  preaching  of  Whitefield  and  Tennent.  He  cooperated  with  Bel- 
lamy and  Edwards.  In  1742  he  was  a  member  of  a  voluntary  association 
which  met  at  Wethersfield  to  promote  the  awakening  and  salvation  of  souls. 
A  copy  of  the  doings  of  that  meeting  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Clerk  of  the 
Church  in  Huntington. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Isaac  Lewis,  D.  D.,  Joshua  Perry,  David  Perry, 
"William  A.  Hawley,}  George  Carrington,  Henry  S.  Nichols. 

«  Bp.  An.  1,  «62  ;  2,  5.    Allen,     t  Sp.  An.  2,  4.    Allen.    %  Cong.  Y.  B.  2,  97. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  JEWETT  CITY,  IN  GRISWOLD,  ORG.  APRIL  14,  1825. 

MINISTERS.                           SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Seth  Bliss,  June,  1825  April,    1832 

George  Perkins,  Aug.  1832  Sept.     1838         Sept.     1852 

William  Wright,  Nov.  1838  April,    1842 

Thomas  L.  Shipman,  Apr.   1843  Sept      1854 

Henry  T.  Cheever,  May,  1856 


412  History  of  the  Churches. 

The  Church  is  an  offshoot  from  the  old  church  in  Griswold.  The  Society 
is  the  2d  Congregational  Society  of  Griswold.  For  several  years  the  Church 
received  aid  from  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  Connecticut.  In  1 855 
a  fund  of  $8000  was  raised,  which  placed  the  support  of  the  gospel  upon  a 
permanent  basis. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Stephen  Johnson,  (f.)  William  A.  Hyde. 


THE  CHUKCII  IN  KENSINGTON,  IN  BERLIN,  ORG.  DEC.  10,  1712. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  Burnham,  Dec.     1712  Sept.   1750 

Ezra  Stiles,  D.  D. 

Aaron  Brown, 

Samuel  Sherwood, 

Elizur  Goodrich,  D.  D. 

Samuel  Clark,  July,   1756  Nov.  1775 

Timothy  Dwight,  D.  D.  1777 

Benoni  Upson,  D.  D.  April,  1779  Nov.  1826 

Royal  Robbins,  June,  1816  June,  1859 

Elias  B.  Hillard,  May,   1860 

This  church  was  originally  the  second  church  in  Farmington.  The  Eccle- 
siastical Society  in  Kensington  was  probably  set  off  from  Farmington  about 
the  year  1712,  and  included  New  Britain  and  Worthington.  At  that  time  there 
were  but  fourteen  families  in  the  place  ;  the  church  had  at  first  but  ten  mem- 
bers. Mr.  Burnham  was  considered  a  sound  preacher,  and  was  accustomed 
to  refer  much  to  the  scriptures  in  support  of  his  doctrines.  He  possessed  a 
large  estate.  Under  his  ministry,  a  prayer  and  conference  meeting  existed, 
at  which  the  brethren  presided  in  rotation,  and  each  one,  before  closing  the 
meeting  of  his  charge,  named  the  next  brother  to  preside,  and  the  theme 
for  consideration.  Mr.  Clark  appeared  well  in  the  pulpit  ;  and  the  epitaph 
on  his  tombstone  mentions  among  other  estimable  qualities  of  the  man,  that 
he  was  "  in  the  gift  of  preaching,  excellent,  laborious  and  pathetic."  Dr. 
Upson  was  a  wise  and  benevolent  man,  a  lover  of  peace,  and  a  peace-maker, 
and  distinguished  with  his  family  for  hospitality.  There  have  been  several 
seasons  of  special  attention  to  religion  in  this  place  during  the  present  cen- 
tury. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. ^-Thomas  Hooker,  Elijah  Gridley,  Uriel  Gridley, 
Horace  Hooker,  John  Gridley,  Samuel  Lee. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  KENT,  ORG.  APRIL  29,  1741. 
Cyrus  Marsh,  May,   1741  Dec.    1755 

Joel  Bord well,*  Oct.     1758  Dec.    1811 

AsaBlair,t  May,    1813  Jan.    1823 

Laurens  P.  Hickok,  D.  D.,       Dec.     1823  April,  1829 


History  of  the  Churches.  413 


VVra.  W.  Andrews,  May,    1834  April,  1849 

Wm.  W.  Page,  Dec.     1753  May,    1854 

Elisha  Wftittlesey,  1856  1858 

Evarts  Scudder,  June,  1859 

The  settlement  of  this  town  began  in  1737  ;  incorporated  in  1739.  The 
church  has  been  blessed  with  repeated  revivals  ;  as  the  result  of  the  most 
extensive,  fifty-six  were  added  in  1812,  fifty  in  1816,  and  forty-two  in  1831. 
The  church  has  a  considerable  fund  for  the  support  of  the  gospel,  and  a  good 
parsonage. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.— Samuel  J.  Mills,  Walter  Smith,  Seth  Swift,|  Ed- 
mund Mills, §  Birdsey  G.  Northrop. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  672.    t  Litchf.  Centen.  118.     J  Allen,    §  Mendon.  Assoc.  133. 


The  South  Church  in  Killingly,  Org.  1746. 
Nehemiah  Barker,  1746  1755 

Eden  Borroughs,  D.  D,*          Jan.     1760  1771  May,   1813 

This  church  was  formed  by  a  division  of  the  First  Chnrch,  now  East 
Putnam,  on  account  of  a  controversy  about  the  location  of  a  meeting-house. 
Dr.  Burroughs  was  the  last  pastor,  and  the  church  became  extinct  before  the 

close  of  the  century. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  53,  90.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  KILMNGWORTH,  ORG.  JAN.  18,  1738. 

William  Seward,*  Jan.     1738  1782 

Henry  Ely,  Sept.   1782  Feb.    1801 

Josiah  B.  Andrews,  April,  1802  April,  1811 

Asa  King,t  Nov     1811  Aug.    1832  Dec.    1849 

Ephraim  G.  Swift,t  Dec.     1833  Nov.    1850  Aug.   1858 

Hiram  Bell,  Nov.    1850 

The  church  in  Killingworth  was  formed  for  the  most  part,  of  members 
from  the  First  Church,  now  Clinton.  It  was  called  North  Killingworth  till 
the  division  of  the  town.  Original  members,  50 ;  added  by  the  first  pastor, 
160;  second,  131;  third,  143:  fifth,  262 ;  sixth,  nine  years,  114;  total, 
1002.  Ev.  Mag.  4.  419  ;  5.  31.  The  first  revival  ever  enjoyed  by  this 
church,  was  at  the  commencement  of  Mr.  Andrews'  ministry,  an  account  of 
which  was  published  in  the  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine  ;  since  which 
time  it  has  been  refreshed  by  frequent  revivals  up  to  the  present  year  ;  the 
most  powerful  of  which  were  in  1811,  when  133  were  added — in  1836,  61  ; 
in  1843,  72;  in  1854,  50  ;  in  1858,  46.  Memoir  of  Dr.  Nettleton,  133. 
The  congregation  occupies  its  third  meeting-house,  which  was  built  about 
thirty  years  ago,  and  it  embraces  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  who  may  be  designated  as  a  church-going  people. 


414  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP  — William  Seward,  Asahel  Nettleton,  D.  r>.  §  Josiah 
Pierson,  George  Coan,  Martin  Wilcox,  Alvin  Parmelee,  Henry  Lord,  Philan- 
der ParmeleeJ  Titus  Coan,  (f.)  John  Wilcox,  Ebenezer  H.  Wilcox. 

*  Allen,    t  Allen.    %  Cong.  Y.  B.  6. 135.    §  Sp.  An.  2.  542.     J  Sp.  An.  2.  546. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  is  LEBANON,  ORG.  Nov.  27,  1700. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Joseph  Parsons,  Nov.    1700  1708 

Samuel  Wells,  Dec.     1711  Dec.    1722 

Solomon  Williams,  D.  D.,*      Dec.     1722  Feb.   1776 

Zebulon  Ely,t  Nov.     1782  Nov.    1824 

Edward  Bull,  Sept.    1825  1837 

John  C.  Nichols,  Feb.     1840  Mar.    1854 

O.  D.  Hine,  May,    1856 

The  year  in  which  the  organization  of  the  town  was  perfected,  the  church 
was  gathered,  and  a  pastor  ordained.  The  growth  of  the  church  was 
rapid.  In  little  more  than  half  a  century  it  became  one  of  the  strongest 
and  most  influential  churches  in  the  colony.  Its  most  prosperous  days  were 
during  the  long  ministry  of  Dr.  Williams,  when  such  men  as  the  elder 
Governor  Trumbull,  and  William  Williams,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  were  active  members.  The  population  of  the  town  was  larger 
before  the  war  of  the  Revolution  than  it  has  been  since.  A  dispute  as  to 
the  position  of  the  meeting  house  had  prevailed  at  intervals  from  the  organi- 
zation of  the  society.  In  1730,  those  living  north  of  a  certain  line  en- 
tered into  an  agreement  with  the  society  that  they  would  not  vote  in  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  the  meeting-house.  After  a  generation,  this  agreement 
was  forgotten  or  disregarded ;  and  in  1804,  those  living  north  of  the  line, 
who,  with  others  acting  with  them,  constituted  a  majority  of  the  society,  vo- 
ted to  pull  down  the  existing  meeting-house,  and  build  another  a  mile  north ; 
and  persons  acting  in  their  interest,  proceeded  amid  strife,  and  with  much 
violence,  to  demolish  the  meeting-house  then  in  use.  The  civil  courts  deci- 
ded that  those  living  north  of  the  line  had  no  right  to  act  in  the  case  ; — and 
the  General  Assembly  set  off  those  living  south  of  the  line  into  a  separate 
society,  upon  evidence  being  exhibited  that  they  were  able  to  sustain  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  Gospel.  In  order  to  furnish  such  evidence,  a,  fund  was  cre- 
ated, now  amounting  to  $7,000.  Dr.  Williams  was  prominent  among  the 
ministers  of  his  time.  He  sympathised  with  the  great  awakening.  There 
is  extant  a  printed  sermon  which  he  preached  in  1741,  occasioned  by  the  oc- 
currence of  swooning  and  pretended  revelations  in  an  adjoining  parish  of 
the  town,  entitled  "  The  More  Excellent  Way  ;"  in  which,  while  he 
put  these  singular  manifestations  in  their  true  place,  he  speaks  of  the  revi- 
val generally — "as  the  glorious  work  of  God."  It  is  singular  that  with 
such  a  character,  and  such  views,  he  took  ground  against  Edwards  in  his 


History  of  the  Churches.  415 

great  controversy  as  to  the  terms  of  admission  to  the  church,  involving  the 
half-way  covenant. 

Mr.  Ely  was  a  good  preacher  and  pastor.  He  was  characterized  by  sound- 
ness and  strength  of  intellect  rather  than  by  imagination,  and  was  reserved 
in  his  manners.  During  his  ministry,  revivals  were  frequently  enjoyed,  and 
his  labors  were  adapted  to  promote  an  earnest  piety.  It  is  a  little  remarkable 
that  he  preached  at  the  funerals  of  the  first  and  second  Governors  Trumbull, 
and  of  William  Williams,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Peter  Pratt,  Eliphalet  Williams,  D.  D.,  Eliphalet 
Huntington,  Joseph  Lyman,  D.  D.{  William  Robinson,  David  Huntington, 
John  Griswold,  Eliphalet  Lyman,  John  Robinson,§  Elijah  Parish,  D.  D.| 
Lynde  Huntington,  Ariel  Parish,!  William  Lyman,  D.  D.,  Asa  Lyman,  An- 
drew Huntington,  Richard  Williams,*!  Ezra  Stiles  Ely,  D.D.,  Nathaniel  Free- 
man, Dan  Huntington,  Jonathan  T.  Ely,  David  DeF.  Ely,  David  Metcalf,  War- 
ren B.  Dutton,  D.  D.,  Samuel  G.  Buckingham,  Elijah  F.  Rockwell,  James  A. 
Clark,  William  M.  Birchard. 

THE  FOLLOWING  LICENTIATES  WERK  NEVER  ORDAINED  — Jonathan  Seymour, 
Jonathan  Trumbull,  Eliphalet  Birchard,  Henry  Woodworth,  William  Met- 
calf. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  207,  321.  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  2.  192.  Allen.  J  Am.  Qu.  Keg.  12.  329. 
§  Mendon  As.  134.  |  Sp.  An.  2.  268.  Allen.  1  Sp.  An.  3.  497. 


The  North  Church  in  Lebanon,  Org.  1804. 

In  consequence  of  a  disagreement  about  the  location  of  the  house  of  wor- 
ship, a  new  congregation  was  gathered,  nearly  a  mile  north  of  the  old  one, 
which  at  first  conformed  to  Congregational  usages,  but  has  since  become 
a  Baptist  Church.  A  little  yielding  on  the  part  of  those  living  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  town,  a  Christian  regard  to  the  convenience  and  interests  of 
the  whole  society,  would  doubtless  have  saved  the  integrity  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  entailed  countless  benefits  on  succeeding  generations. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  LEDYARD,  ORG.  OCT.  1729. 

MIHISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Ebenezer  Punderson,*  Dec.     1723  Feb.    1734  1771 

Andrew  Croswell,t  Oct.      1736  Aug.   1746  Apr.    1785 

Jacob  Johnson,!  June,  1749  1772  1794 

Timothy  Tuttle,  Aug.    1811 

The  town  of  Ledyard  was  formerly  the  second  society  in  Groton,  incor- 
porated in  1724.  The  church  remained  vacant  from  1772  to  1811.  Mr. 
Punderson  became  an  Episcopalian,  and  preached  some  years  at  New  Ha- 
ven. As  the  former  church  had  become  entirely  extinct,  a  new  church  was 
organized  Dec.  12,  1810,  consisting  at  the  time  of  five  members.  From  th« 


416  History  of  the  Churches. 

time  of  Mr.  Tuttle's  ordination,  to  April,  1834,  his  labors  were  equally  di- 
vided between  the  two  parishes,  Groton  and  Ledyard  ;  and  since  that  time, 
devoted  to  Ledyard  only.  It  may  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  statement 
that  the  society  of  Ledyard  lay  as  a  waste  place  during  thirty-nine  years. 
Sometimes  it  employed  preachers  of  different  kinds,  and  sometimes  nor  . 
Added  to  the  church  since  1811,  204. 
MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — James  A.  Gallup. 

•Allen,    t Sp.  An.  1.  322.    Allen.    J  Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  LISBON,  NEWEST  SOCIETY,  ORG.  DEC.  1723. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Daniel  Kirkland,*  Dec.     1723  1752 

Peter  Powers,!  Dec.     1756  1764 

Joel  Benedict,  D.  D.,t  1770  1781 

David  Hale,§  June,   1790  April,  1803 

David  B.  Ripley,  1803  1804 

LeviNelson.j  Dec.     1804  Dec.    1855 

David  Breed,  Feb.     1857 

A  separate  church  formed  during  Mr.  Kirkland's  ministry,  was  soon  dis- 
banded. Dr.  Benedict  was  dismissed  on  account  of  the  severity  of  the 
times,  and  their  straitened  circumstances  ;  and  the  church  was  vacant  eight 
years.  The  inscription  on  Mr.  Nelson's  monument  testifies  that  he  was,  "An 
able  divine,  an  impressive  preacher,  a  good  man,  faithful  to  his  trust."  The 
present  tasteful  church  edifice  was  built  in  1858;  the  former  one  stood  87 
years.  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  born  here,  was  a  missionary  to  the  Indians,  in 
Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  and  the  founder  of  Hamilton  College.  Eel.  Intel. 
45.  376. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Kirkland,  (f.)  Caleb  Knight, If  William 
Potter,  (f.)  Wm.  A.  Hyde,  Hiram  Tracy,  Wm.  R.  Palmer,  Aaron  Kinne.** 

*Sp.  An.  1.  623.  Allen.  tSp.  An.  2.  346.  Allen.  JSp.  An.  1.  682.  Allen. 
§  Allen,  j  Mendon  As.  276.  Cong.  Y.  B.  3.  108.  1  Cong.  Y.  B.  2.  100.  **  Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  LITCHFIELD,  ORG.  1722. 

Timothy  Collins,*  June,  1723  Nov.    1752  1776 

Judah  Champion,*  July,    1753  Oct.     1810 

Dan  Huntington,*  Oct.     1798  Jan.     1809 

Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.,  May,    1810  Feb.     1826 

Daniel  L.  Carrol,  D.  D.,  Oct.     1827  Mar.,  1829 

Laurens  P.  Hickok,  D.  D.,  July,    1829  Nov.    1836 

Jonathan  Brace,  D.  D.,  June,  1838  Feb.     1844 

Benjamin  Lincoln  Swan,  Oct.     1846  May,    1856 

Leonard  Woolsey  Bacon,  Oct.     1856  June,  1860 


History  of  the  Churches.  417 

No  great  revival  occurred  here  until  the  year  1808.  During  the  progress 
of  the  "  great  awakening,"  this  church  by  special  vote  expressed  their  aver- 
sion to  that  work,  and  their  unwillingness  to  receive  visits  from  the  Evan- 
gelists. An  account  of  the  first  revival  in  Litchfield  may  be  found  in  the 
Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine  for  1813,  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Mr.  Hunt- 
ington,  and  of  Hon.  Tapping  Reeve.  Since  that  time,  the  history  of  this 
community  has  been  signalized  by  many  and  great  revivals,  especially  un- 
der the  ministries  of  Drs.  Beecher,  Hickok  and  Brace.  Memoir  of  Dr.  Net- 
tleton,  158.  Ev.  Mag,  8.  155,  313.  Eel.  Intel.  15.  777  ;  16,  286.  Under 
the  administration  of  Dr.  Beecher,  the  Temperance  Reformation  was  pow- 
erfully advanced,  if,  indeed,  it  was  not  originated  by  his  well  known  "  Six 
Sermons."  Owing,  doubtless,  to  his  influence,  also,  the  Litchfield,  County 
Missionary  Society  was  formed — the  earliest  of  the  auxiliaries  of  the  A.  B. 
C.  F.  M. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Charles  Wadsworth,  D.  D.,  Herman  L.  Vaill,  Da- 
vid L.  Parmelee,  James  Kilbourn,  (h.) McNeil,  (Meth.)  Joseph  Vaill, 

Ethan  Osborn,  Benjamin  Osborn,  Edward  P.  Abbe,  Frederick  R.  Abbe,  Os- 
car Bissell,  Horace  Bushnell,  D.  D.,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Charles  Beecher, 
Thomas  K.  Beecher,  Edward  Nolen,  Charles  L.  Brace,  Ambrose  Collins,  John 
Churchill,  Stephen  Mason,  Hezekiah  B.  Pierpont,  Almon  B.  Pratt,  Holland 
Weeks,  Jeremiah  Woodruff,  Lewis  H.  Woodruff. 
*  Litchf.  Ceuten.  70-72. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  LONG  RIDGE,  IN  STAMFORD,  ORG.  JULY  5,  1843. 
MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Frederick  H.  Ay  era,  1843  1854 

A.  R  Collins,  1854  1856 

John  Smith,  1856  1858 

Ezra  D.  Iiinney,  May,  1859  1860 

C.  H.  Powell,  1860 

The  church  was  organized  with  seventeen  members  from  the  church  in 
Stanwich.  The  enterprise  is  considered  an  experiment.  They  have  a  com- 
fortable meeting-house,  which  is  paid  for,  but  are  too  poor  to  raise  more  than 
half  the  ordinary  salary  paid  to  a  minister. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  MADISON,  ORG.  Nov.  1707. 

John  Hart,*  1705,  ord.  1707  Mar.    1731 

Jonathan  Todd,t  Oct.      1733  Feb.    1791 

John  Eliot,  J  Nov.     1791  Dec.    1824 

Samuel  N.  Shepard,§  Nov.     1825  Sept  1856 

Samuel  Fiske,  June,    1857 

Organized  as  the  church  in  East  Guilford,  the  society  being  then  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  town  of  Guilford. 

54 


418  History  of  the  Churches- 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Moses  Bartlett,  William  Hart,  William  Stone, 
Timothy  Field,  (h.)  David  D.  Field,  D.  D.,  Erastus  Scranton,  Harvey  Bush- 
nell,  William  C.  Fowler,  Ralph  S  Crampton,  Stephen  A.  Loper,  Andrew  L. 
Stone,  Seth  B.  Stone,  (f.)  James  L.  Willard,  William  B.  Lee,  Chauncey  D. 
Al  urray. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  260.  fSp.  An.  1.  383.  JSp.  An.  2.  321.  Allen.  §  Sp.  An.  2.  365. 
Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  MANCHESTER  (FORMERLY  ORFORD)  ORG.  July,  1779. 

MINISTERS.                                             SETTLED.  DISMISSED.                            DIED. 

Beriah  Phelps,*                      Mar.      1780  June,  1793             Feb.    1817 

Salmon  King,                           Nov.     1800  Oct.     1808 

Elisha  B.  Cook,                       Mar.     1814  July,  1823 

Enoch  Burt,                            July,     1824  1828            Nov.   1856 

Bennett  F.  Northrop,              Feb.     1829  Oct.     1850 

Frederick  T.  Perkins,             June,    1851  Oct.     1856 

Samuel  B.  Forbes,                   Oct.      1857  April,  1859 
Lester  M.  Dorman,                June,    1860 

*  Allen. 


THK  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  MANCHESTER,  ORG.  JAN.  8,  1851. 
Geo.  E.  Hill,  June,  1851  Feb.    1853 

Francis  F.  Williams,  Dec.     1853  Jan,     1856 

Hiram  Day,  May,    1857  Mar.    1859 

Warren  G.  Jones,  1859 

For  many  years  previous  to  the  organization  of  the  church,  a  Sabbath 
School  was  sustained  in  Union  Village  by  the  united  efforts  of  the  Congre- 
gational and  Methodist  brethren  ;  and  a  few  years  before  the  erection  of  the 
church,  it  became  entirely  a  Congregational  Sabbath  School.  The  efforts 
made  in  sustaining  this  school  fully  developed  the  necessity  of  establishing 
there  the  stated  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  and  sixty-seven  members,  regu- 
larly dismissed  from  the  First  Congregational  Church  in  Manchester,  were 
duly  organized,  and  their  house  of  worship  dedicated  on  the  same  day. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  MANSFIELD,  ORG.  OCT.  1710. 

Eleazar  Williams,*  Oct.     1710  Sept.     1742 

Richard  Salter,  D.  D.,t  June,  1744  April,    1787 

Elijah  Gridley,  April,  1789  July,     1796 

John  Sherman,  Nov.    1797  Oct.       1805 

Samuel  P.  Williams,  Jan.     1807  Sept.      1817 

Anson  S.  Atwood,  Sept.  1819 


History  of  the  Churches.  419 

This  was  a  colony  from  the  Church  in  Windham.  The  first  pastor,  a  son 
of  Rev.  John  Williams  of  Deerfield,  escaped  being  captured  with  his  father's 
family  by  the  Indians  in  1704,  as  he  was  absent  from  home  pursuing  his 
studies  for  the  ministry.  He  was  a  godly  man,  and  a  faithful,  successful  min- 
ister, receiving  to  the  Church  409,  and  enjoying  revivals  in  1731  and  '34.  The 
early  part  of  Dr.  Salter's  ministry  was  embarrassed  and  tried  by  the 
conduct  of  some  of  the  members  of  his  church  who  were  the  radicals  of 
the  memorable  revival  of  1740.  These  denounced  the  Church  and  Pas- 
tor as  dead,  hypocrites,  and  devoid  of  all  spiritual  religion,  and  went 
out  from  them  in  a  disorderly  manner,  and  formed  a  separate  church. 
The  Church  after  bearing  with  them  for  a  time  were  constrained  to 
cut  them  off.  Dr.  S.,  lived  in  that  age  of  our  ecclesiastical  history, 
when  "  ministers  were  law  and  gospel "  to  their  people,  and  after 
his  first  troubles  were  over  he  had  a  prosperous  ministry,  347  being  added 
to  the  church.  He  was  a  sound  and  able  theologian,  highly  respected  and 
beloved.  Mr.  Sherman  became  a  Unitarian,  but  such  was  his  hold  on  the 
community  and  his  popularity  that  he  took  with  him  almost  the  entire  con- 
gregation, and  a  large  minority  of  the  Church.  The  wonder  is  that  the 
Church  was  not  a  perfect  wreck ;  but  under  God,  Consociation  saved  it ; 
independency  could  not  have  done  it.  The  Church  was  mercifully  and  un- 
expectedly delivered,  by  the  dismission  of  the  pastor  by  a  council,  when 
neither  he  nor  the  Society  expected  it.  Eight  years  elapsed  before  the  diffi- 
culties of  doctrinal  views  were  reconciled,  the  last  element  of  Unitarianism 
removed  from  the  Church,  and  her  unity  and  peace  restored.  Thus  ended 
the  first  conflict  with  Unitarianism  in  this  State.  Mr.  S.  P.  Williams's  la- 
bors were  blessed  with  a  revival  the  year  before  his  dismission,  and  during 
the  next  40  years,  the  Lord  often  refreshed  his  weary  heritage  with  the  influ- 
ences of  the  Spirit.  Whole  membership  1325. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Storrs,  Eleazer  Storrs,  Andrew  Storrs,  Oli- 
ver Arnold,  Jonathan  Hovey,  Jonathan  Hovey,  2d.,  Samuel  Wood,  Asa 
King,  Richard  Salter  Storrs,  Allen  ;  Porter  Storrs,  John  Storrs,  Allen  •  David 
A.  Grosvenor,  Mason  Grosvenor,  John  W.  Salter,  (Ep.)  Thomas  G.  Salter, 
Elijah  P.  Barrows,  D.  D.,  John  A.  Albro,  D.  D. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  226.  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1,  241.  Allen. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  MARLBOROCGH,  ORG.  MAY,  1749. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.                     DIED. 

Samuel  Lockwood,  (c.)  1748 

Elijah  Mason,  May,    1749  1761                        1770 

Benjamin  Dunning,  Dec.     1762  1773                       1785 

David  Huntington,  1776  1797                       1812 

David  B.  Ripley,  Sept.    1804  1827                      1840 

Chauncey  Lee,  D.  D.*  1828  J887            Dec.    1842 

Hiram  Bell,  1840  1850 

Warren  Fiske,  1850  1858 

Alpheus  J.  Pike,  Mar.     1859 


420  History  of  the  Churches. 

According  to  tradition,  the  Indian  name  of  Marlborough  was  Terramug- 
gus.  Previous  to  1747,  the  few  families  occupying  the  three  contiguous 
corners  of  Colchester,  Glastenbury  and  Hebron,  assembled  themselves  oc- 
casionally for  public  worship. 

Tradition  says  that  Mr.  Mason  was  ordained  on  the  timbers,  which,  in  the 
course  of  a  year,  were  erected  into  a  meeting-house,  which  was  occupied  till 
1841,  and  then  gave  room  for  the  present  house.  Before  the  erection  of  the 
house,  the  people  assembled  at  the  tavern,  the  minister  occupying  the  bar. 
He  soon  formed  the  habit  of  intemperance,  for  which  he  was  deposed,  but 
afterwards  was  restored,  and  installed  at  Chester.  Mr.  Huntington  took  his 
dsimission  against  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  settled  at  North  Lyme.  Mr. 
Ripley  was  a  worthy  man,  and  after  a  successful  ministry,  removed  to  Virgil, 
N.  Y.,  and  Northern  Illinois,  preaching  in  various  destitute  places. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Lewis  Dunham,  (Meth.) 

*  Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  MERIDEN,  ORG.  OCT.  22,  1729. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Theophilus  Hall,*  Oct.      1729  Mar.    1767 

John  Hubbard,t  June,   1769  Nov.    1786 

John  Willard,  June,   1786  1802                       1826 

Erastus  Ripley,  Feb.     1803  Feb.    1822            Nov.   1841 

Charles  J.  Hinsdale,  Jan.     1823  Dec.    1833 

Wm.  McLain,  1834  1835 

Arthur  Granger,  Mar.     1836  Oct.     1838 

Charles  Rich,  1840  1841 

George  W.  Perkins,!  May,     1841  July,  1854            Nov.    1856 

George  Thacher,  Nov.     1854 

The  First  Church  in  Meriden  was  organized  with  fifty-one  members.  The 
Society  was  within  the  limits  of  Wallingford,  until  May,  1806.  There  have 
been  frequent  revivals,  adding  many  members  to  the  church.  Under  the 
first  pastorate,  250 ;  the  fourth,  100  hopeful  converts ;  fifth,  50  ;  seventh, 
about  250  ;  and  during  the  last  year,  80  were  added.  Under  the  "  stated 
supplies"  in  1834  and  1840,  170.  Bel.  Intel.  14,  668.  Two  colonies  have  gone 
from  this  church — one  in  1848  of  one  hundred  members,  to  constitute  the 
"  Center  Church  ;"  the  other  in  1853,  of  thirty  persons,  to  form  the  "  Third 
Church,"  located  in  that  part  of  Meriden  called  Hanover. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Matthew  Merriman,  Avery  Hall,  Isaac  Foster, 
Thomas  HoltJ  Samuel  J.  Curtis,  (h.)  Erastus  Curtis,  Charles  E.  Murdock,  (h.) 
Dan  C.  Curtis,  (h.)  Ralph  Tyler,  Lyman  C.  Hough. 

*Sp.  An.  1.668.  Allen.  tSp.  An.  415,  537.  Allen.  }.  Cong.  Y.  B.,  1857, 124. 
|  Allen. 


History  of  the  Churches.  421 

THE  CENTER  CHURCH,  MERIDEN,  OKO.  MARCH,  1848. 
MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

A  sahel  H.  Stevens,  Mar.     1848  Sept.  18:»l 

A.  S.  Chesebrough,  1855  1857 

Lewis  C.  Lock  wood,  June,  1857  Feb.     1858 

0.  H.   White,  (c.)  June,  1858 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1727,  in  the  south-eastern  part 
of  the  town  ;  the  second  in  1755,  at  the  center  ;  the  third  in  1830,  near  the 
same  spot.  In  this  house,  the  church  continued  to  worship  till  1848,  when 
a  majority,  with  the  pastor,  removed  to  West  Meriden  ;  and  the  remainder, 
forming  the  second  church,  occupy  the  house  where  their  fathers  had  wor- 
shiped. There  have  been  interesting  revivals  in  this  place  both  before  and 
since  the  division, — some  of  them  in  their  details  'of  great  power  and  thril- 
ling interest. 


THE  CHURCH  rx  MIDDLEBURY,  ORG.  FEB.  10,  1796. 

Ira  Hart,  Nov.   1798  April,  1809            Oct.     1829 

Mark  Mead,  Nov.  1809  Mar.    1830 

Jason  Atwater,  Oct.    1830  Oct.     1845            April,  1860 

George  P.  Prudden,  Dec.  1845  Mar.    1851 

Joel  R.  Arnold,  Sept.   1851  Dec.    1853 

Retilo  J.   Cone.  May,  1854  Dec.    1855 

Jonathan  S.  Judd,  June,  1856 

Several  eminent  men  have  been  candidates  in  Middlebury,  as  Dr.  E.  D. 
Griffin,  Dr.  E.  Porter,  Mr.  Sherman  of  Mansfield,  and  Mr.  Gelston  of  Sher- 
man. Some  of  them  were  invited  to  settle. 

The  dismission  of  Mr.  Hart,  was  the  result  of  a  struggle  that  was  very 
fierce  and  long  continued.  The  people  were  very  generally  alienated  from 
their  pastor.  In  those  times  it  was  customary  for  damages  to  be  paid  to  the 
dismissed  pastor.  It  was  left  to  the  council  to  award  the  damages,  and  the 
amounts  set  down  by  the  different  members  were  from  five  dollars  to  $1500. 
The  average  of  these  was  the  amount  fixed, — being  somewhere  from  $400 
to  $500. 

There  have  been  several  seasons  of  special  ingathering.  Especially  was  the 
Church  thus  favored  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Atwater.  JEc.  Mag.  3,64, 
102.  Eel.  Intel  6,153. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Bennet  Tyler,  D.  D.,  John  B.  Richardson,  Nathan- 
iel S.  Richardson,  D.  D.,  (Ep).  Sylvester  Hine,  George  F.  Bronson,  Henry  A. 
Russel. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MIDDLEFIELD,  IN  MIDDLETOWN,  ORQ.  1745. 
Ebenezer  Gould,*  1747  1756 

Joseph  Denison,  1765  1770 


422  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Abner  Benedict, t  1771  1785  1818 

Stephen  Hayes,  May,    1820  May,      1827 

James  Noyes,  July,   1829  Jan.      1839 

Dwight  M.  Seward, 

James  T.  Dickinson, 

James  D.  Moore,  Dec.     1846  Dec.       1850 

Willard  Jones, 

Francis  Dyer, 

S.D.  Jewett,  July,    1858 

After  the  dismission  of  Mr.  Benedict,  the  Church  was  for  23  years  desti- 
tute of  a  settled  minister.  Other  denominations  pressed  sore  upon  it.  The 
sanctuary  was  obtained  for  erroneous  preaching ;  piety  declined,  and  the 
Church  became  nearly  or  quite  extinct.  The  Church  was  reorganized  in 
1808,  but  passed  on  in  darkness  till  1820.  It  has  now  a  neat  and  tasteful 
sanctuary,  a  good  lecture  room  and  parsonage  ;  is  united  and  harmonious, 
with  prospects  highly  favorable  for  the  future. 

*  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1,  682. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MIDDLE  HADDAM,  IN  CHATHAM,  ORG.  SEPT.  24,  1740. 

Benjamin  Bowers,  Sept.    1740  1761 

Benjamin  Boardman,*  Jan.     1762  1783                      1802 

David  Selden,  Oct.      1785  Jan.       1825 

Charles  Bentley,  Feb.     1826  May,     1833 

Stephen  A.  Loper,  Jan.     1834  Oct.      1841 

William  Case,  1842  1844 

PMloJudson,  1846  1847 

James  C.  Houghton,  Sept  1847  Feb.      1851 

William  S  Wright,  1851  1853 

James  Kilbourn,  May,  1853  July,     1857 

Benjamin  B.  HopTcinson,  1858 

Added  to  the  Church  under  the  first  pastorate.  199;  second,  171 ;  third 
281;  fourth,  90,  of  whom  51  at  one  time,  July  1,  1827;  baptized  under 
the  second  pastorate  690;  third,  539;  Marriages,  319. 

From  the  formation  of  the  Church  the  pulpit  has  very  seldom  been  vacant. 
The  Church  has  been  blessed  with  revivals.  Eel.  Intel.  11,  619. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Israel  Brainerd,  James  Brainerd  Taylor,  Thomas 
Tallman,  Jacob  H.  Strong,  David  Selden,  Sylvester  Selden,  William  Wright, 
David  A.  Strong. 

*Sp.  An.  1,513. 


THE  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  MIDDLE  HADDAM,  IN  CHATHAM,  ORG.  MARCH,  1855. 
J.  H.  Newton,  March,  1855 


History  of  the  Churches.  423 

This  Church  was  formed  at  Middle  Haddam  Landing,  in  consequence  of 
the  inconvenience  to  many  members  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  going 
a  long  distance  to  public  worship,  and  of  the  need  of  having  a  house  of 
worship  of  the  Congregational  denomination  at  the  Landing.  The  Church 
was  formed  with  iJ3  members. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  MIDDLETOWX,  ORG.  Nov.  4,  1668. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Stow,  1651?  1667? 

Nathaniel  Collins,*  Nov.     1668  Dec.       1684 

Noadiah  Russell, t  Oct.      1688  Dec.       1713 

William  Russell,*  June,    1715  June,    1761 

Enoch  Huntington,§  June,    1762  June,    1809 

Dan  Huntington,  Aug.    1809  Feb.       1816 

ChaunceyA.  Goodrich.D.D.J  July,     1816  Dec.       1817         Feb.       1860 

John  R.  Crane,  D.  o.,1  Nov.     1818  Aug.     1856 

James  C.  Crane,  Jan.      1854  April,    1856 

Jeremiah  Taylor,  Oct      1856 

The  congregation  was  gathered  as  early  as  1651.  "  The  great  object  of 
the  Colonists,  who  settled  in  Middletown,  was  to  enjoy  unmolested,  the  right 
of  worshiping  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences." 
Difficulties  arose  in  the  congregation  respecting  Mr.  Stow,  and  the  question 
in  debate  became  so  serious  that  the  aid  of  the  General  Court  was  finally  in- 
voked to  bring  matters  to  a  crisis.  The  decree  of  the  Court  was  "  that  the 
town  of  Middletown  is  free  from  Mr.  Stow  as  their  engaged  minister,  and 
that  the  Court  appoint  a  committee  to  further  a  settled  ministry  in  that 
place." 

In  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Collins  the  Church  had  great  prosperity.  Cotton 
Mather  says  of  him.  "The  Church  of  Middletown,  upon  Connecticut  River, 
was  the  golden  candlestick,  from  whence  this  excellent  person  illuminated 
more  than  that  whole  colony  ;  and  all  the  qualities  of  most  exemplary  piety, 
extraordinary  integrity,  obliging  affability,  joined  with  the  accomplishments 
of  an  extraordinary  preacher,  did  render  him  truly  excellent"  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Saybrook  Synod:  p.  7,  10.  The  Russells,  father  and  son, 
were  eminent  in  their  day  ;  the  father  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Yale  Col- 
lege ;  the  son  died  on  the  46th  anniversary  of  his  ordination.  Whitfield, 
having  been  his  guest  for  a  night,  said  of  him,  "  I  think  him  an  Israelite  in- 
deed, and  one  who  has  been  long  mourning  over  the  deadness  of  professors. 
Oh !  that  all  ministers  were  like  minded." 

Enoch  Huntington  the  fourth  pastor,  was  a  ripe  scholar,  and  in  connection 
with  his  parochial  labors,  engaged  in  teaching  young  men. 

A  number  of  seasons  of  revival  have  been  enjoyed ;  and  the  num- 
bers added  to  the  Church  from  time  to  time,  when  such  special  seasons 
have  not  been  enjoyed  evinces  a  healthy  tone  of  piety  at  all  times. 

The  Church  and  Society  are  now  occupying  their  third  house  of  worship. 


424  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Nathaniel  Collins,  Jeremiah  Learning,  D.  D.,  (Ep.) 
Robert  Hubbard,  Joseph  Washburn,  J.  P.  K.  Henshaw,  D.  D.,  (Ep.)  James  B. 
Crane,  Jonathan  E.  Barnes,  Seth  Wetmore,  Israhiah  Wetmore,  Wait  Corn- 
well,  Seth  B.  Paddock,  (Ep.)  Simeon  North,  D.  D.,  John  H.  Newton,  Enoch 
Huntington. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  183.  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  1,  261  ;  2,  237.  }  Sp.  An.  2.  237.  Allen.  §  Sp. 
An.  1,  606.  Allen.  1  New  Englander  for  1860,  328.  1  Sp.  An.  2,  562.  Cong.  Y.  B. 
2,93. 


THE  SOUTH  CHURCH  IN  MIDDLETOWN.,  ORG.  OCT.  28,  1747. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Ebenezer  Frothingham,          Oct.      1747  1788  1798 

Stephen  Parsons,  Jan.      1788  Aug.   1795 

David  Huntington,  Nov.     1797  Oct.     1800 

Horatio  T.  McGregor,  Oct.      1801  Jan.     1802 

Benjamin  Graves,  Oct.      1803  Jan.     1812 

AhabJincks,  Aug.     1816  May,    1820 

Thomas  T.  De  Verell,  May,     1822  1823 

Horace  Hooker,  1826  Sept.   1827 

Edward  R.  Tyler,  Dec.     1827  Apr.    1832  Sept.    1848 

Wm.  H.  Beecher,  Mar.     1833  Sept.    1833 

Robert  McEwen,  May,    1835  Aug.    1838 

Arthur  Granger,  April,  1839  May,    1844 

Andrew  L.  Stone,  Sept.    1844  Jan.     1849 

John  L.  Dudley,  Sept.    1849  Jan.    1854 

John  L.  Dudley,  Jan.     1854 

This  church  originated  in  the  great  revival  of  1740.  It  was  but  one  of 
the  organized  results  of  the  stirring  preaching  of  Edwards,  and  men  who 
sympathized  with  him.  It  was  no  stranger  to  the  salutary  discipline  at- 
tendant upon  such  as  strove  for  the  direct  spirituality,  pure  doctrines,  and 
simple  polity  of  the  pilgrim  fathers.  Notwithstanding  early  trials,  the 
church  advanced.  Under  its  first  ministry,  its  records  show  peculiar  thrift 
and  vigor.  That  of  Mr.  Huntington  contributed  to  the  spiritual  well-being 
of  the  church.  He  labored  with  eminent  success,  and  was  a  man  of  ardent 
piety.  From  1812  to  1827,  the  church  passed  through  a  varied  history,  and 
some  very  dark  and  discouraging  days.  But  under  Mr.  Tyler,  it  rallied.  The 
present  church  edifice  was  built  during  his  pastorate;  the  first  was  built  in 
1774.  To  him  the  church  and  society  owe  much  of  their  present  vigor. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  ix  MILFORD,  ORG.  AUG.  22,  1639. 

Peter  Prudden,*  April,   1640  July,  1656 

Roger  Newton,t  Aug.    1660  June,  1683 

Samuel  Andrew,!  Nov.     1685  Jan.    1738 


History  of  the  Churches.  425 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Whittlesey,§  Dec.     1737  Oct.     1768 

Samuel  Wales,  D.  D.,|  Dec.      1770  May,    1782  1794 

William  Lockwood,T  Mar.      1784  Apr.    1796  June,  18:28 

Bezaleel  Pinneo,**  Oct.     171)6  Sept  1849 

David  B.  Coe,  D.  D.,  Oct.      1840  Aug.    1844 

Jonathan  Brace,  D.  D.,  Sept.    1845 

The  church  was  organized  before  the  settlement  of  the  town  was  com- 
menced. The  formation  of  the  church  is  thus  referred  to  in  Mather's  Mag- 
nalia :  "  There  were  then  two  famous  churches  gathered  at  New  Haven  ; 
gathered  in  two  days,  one  following  upon  the  other,  Mr.  Davenport's  and 
Mr.  Prudden's,  and  with  this  one  singular  circumstance,  that  a  mighty  barn 
was  the  place  wherein  the  duties  of  that  solemnity  were  attended."  There 
have  been  two  colonies  from  the  church  ;  the  first  in  1741  ;  the  second  in 
1805.  Both  of  these  colonies  were  the  germs  of  two  now  flourishing 
churches,  viz :  the  second  church  in  Milford,  and  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Orange. 

Mr.  Andrew  was  one  of  the  three  prime  movers  in  founding  Yale  College  ; 
also  a  member  of  the  Say  brook  Synod,  in  1708,  and  Rector  of  the  college ; 
pp.  4,  8,  supra.  The  church  has  been  destitute  of  a  settled  pastor,  since  its 
formation,  twelve  years  and  eight  months.  None  of  the  nine  pastors  were 
driven  away  ;  and  the  average  term  of  official  service  of  each  pastor  is  about 
a  quarter  of  a  century. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Treat,  Job  Prudden,  Nehemiah  Prudden,tt 
Gibson  Tomlinson,  Abijah  Carrington,  Samuel  Rogers  Andrew,  Samuel  Mer- 

win,  Elijah  Baldwin,  Joseph  Fowler,  Benjamin  Fenn,  Platt,  Joseph 

Whiting,  Phineas  Stowe,  Samuel  J.  M.  Merwin,  William  G.  French,  David 
B.  Davidson,  Green  Tibbals,  Lewis  French,  Elijah  C.  Baldwin,  John  Gunn 
Beard,  W.  I.  Budington,  D.  D.,  Calvin  Lord,  Alanson  Clark. 

*  Math,  Mag.  1.857.  tSp.  An.  1.  37.  Allen.  JSp.  An.  1.  269.  Allen.  §  Allen. 
|  Sp.An.  1.  710.  1  Sp.  An.  1.  413.  Allen.  **  Sp.  An.  1.  605.  tt  Allen. 


THE  PLYMOUTH  CHURCH,  is  MILFORD,  ORG.  1741. 

Job  Prudden,*  May,  1747  June,  1774 

Josiah  Sherman,  Aug.  1775  June,  1781  Nov.    1789 

David  Tullar,  Nov.  1784  Dec,    1802 

Sherman  Johnson,  t  Feb.  1805  May,   1806 

Caleb  Pitkin,  Mar.  1808  Oct     1816 

Jehu  Clark.  Dec,  1817  1826 

Asa  M.  Train,  July,  1828  Jan.     1850 

J.  M.  Sherwood,  May,  1841  Oct     1852 

S.  G.  Dodd,  Oct  1852  July,  1854 

Wm.  Scofield,  Nov.  1854  Apr.    1858 

W.  Nye  Harvey,  (c.)  Oct  1858 

55 


426  History  of  the  Churches. 

A  large  and  respectable  minority  of  the  first  church  objected  to  the  settle- 
ment of  Mr.  Whittlesey,  on  suspicion  of  his  being  an  Arminian.  After 
several  months  trial,  they  failed  to  gain  satisfaction,  and  applied  to  the 
church,  then  repeatedly  to  the  Association,  and  next  to  the  town,  to  relieve 
their  grievances.  Failing  in  these,  they  petitioned  the  County  Court  for  re- 
lief, and  next,  they  were  induced  to  dissent  from  the  constitution  of  our 
churches,  and  "  declare  for  the  excellent  establishment  of  the  church  of 
Scotland."  After  this,  they  repeatedly  applied  in  vain  to  the  court  for  relief. 
Gov.  George  Law,  of  the  First  Society,  sent  Mr.  Benajah  Case  to  prison  for 
preaching  to  them  ;  issued  warrants  to  arrest  other  ministers  ;  and  sentenced 
Rev.  Samuel  Finley,  afterwards  President  of  Princeton  College,  to  be  trans- 
ported from  the  colony  ;  and  Mr.  Pomeroy,  of  Hebron,  was  called  to  answer 
to  the  General  Assembly  for  preaching  to  them.  At  length,  after  five  years, 
the  County  Court  granted  them  liberty  to  erect  a  house  of  worship,  though  the 
doors  of  their  own  house  were  closed  against  five  evangelical  preachers  du- 
ring the  very  year  of  its  completion.  In  seven  years  more,  the  Legislature 
released  them  from  taxes  to  the  First  Society,  but  did  not  grant  them  ample 
society  privileges  till  ten  years  later.  At  length,  in  1770,  thirty-three  years 
after  they  began  their  dissent,  they  were  allowed  their  proportion  of  the 
funds  for  the  support  of  the  gospel.  While  other  denominations  were  early 
tolerated,  thus  intolerant  were  "the  powers  that  be"  to  dissenters  of  their 
own  order, — a  course  of  procedure  well  calculated  to  build  up  other  sects. 
See  Trumbull,  2,  335-9,  and  Church  Manual. 

*  Allen,     t  Meudou.  As.  278. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MILLINGTON,  IN  EAST  HADDAM,  ORG.  DEC.  2,   1736. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Timothy  Symmes,  Dec.     1736  1743 

Hobart  Estabrook,  Nov.     1745  Jan.    1766 

Diodate  Johnson,  July,    1"67  Jan.    1773 

Eleazer  Sweetland,  May,     1777  Mar.    1787 

William  Lyman,  D.  D.*  Dec.     1787  Aug.    1823  1833 

Herman  L.  Vaill,  April,  1825  Apr.     1828 

Nathaniel  Miner,  May,     1833  Oct.     1857 

A.  C.  Beach,  Feb.     1859 

The  Ecclesiastical  Society  was  formed  Oct.  1733.  Till  some  time  in  1743, 
when  their  meeting  house — fifty  feet  by  forty — was  prepared  for  use,  the 
people  worshiped  in  the  dwelling  house  of  Jonathan  Chapman. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Nathaniel  Emmons,  D.  o,t  Edward  Dorr  Griffin, 
D.  D.,J  Warren  G.  Jones,  George  A.  Beckwith. 

*  Allen,  t  Mendon  Assoc.  109.  Sp.  An.  1.  693.  Memoir  and  Works,  t  Sp.  An. 
4.26. 


History  of  the  Churches.  427 

The  Church  in  Millplane,  in  Danbury,  Org.  Oct.  29,  1851. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Enoch  S.  Huntington,  Oct.     1851  1854 

Nathan  Burton,  Oct.     1854  Oct.     1855 

This  church  began  with  eighteen  members,  under  the  leading  of  a  man  of 
energy  and  property — Mr.  Birchard.  But  he  soon  died  ;  and  after  that 
event  it  drooped  and  flagged.  It  had  a  neat  meeting  house,  but  no 
funds.  After  being  supplied  by  Methodist  ministers  about  four  years,  it 
disbanded  April  28,  1860. 


TIIE  CHURCH  IN  MILTON,  IN  LITCHFIELD,  ORG.  AUG.  19,  1798. 
Benjamin  Judd,  May,    1802  June,  1804 

Abraham  Fowler,*  Sept.    1807  1813  1815 

Asahel  Nettleton,  D.  D.  1813 

Levi  Smith,  1825 

Ralph  Smith,  Oct.     1841  1844 

John  F.  Norton,  Oct.     1844  Apr.    1849 

Herman  L.   Vaill,  June,  1849  Dec.    1851 

Francis  F.  Williams,  Dec.     1851  Apr.    1853 

James  Noyes,  July,  1853  July,  1854 

George  J.  Harrison,  Sept.  1854 

This  is  the  parish  described  in  the  Life  of  Nettleton  (p.  67)  as  "  a  waste 
place" — "  the  people  not  only  without  a  pastor,  but  so  weakened  by  divisions, 
and  by  the  loss  of  their  parish  fund,  that  they  almost  despaired  of  ever  en- 
joying again  the  privilege  of  a  preached  gospel."  The  history  of  this  feeble 
missionary  church  is  a  deeply  interesting  and  eventful  one  ;  filled  with  sad- 
ness— and  yet  with  many  signal  interpositions  of  God  in  its  behalf.  For 
long  periods  of  time,  the  regular  services  of  the  sanctuary  have  been  sus- 
pended, and  the  scattered  members  of  the  church  left  to  wander  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd.  But  when  the  church  seemed  ready  to  perish,  Nettle- 
ton,  in  1813,  and  Levi  Smith,  in  1825,  under  the  providence  of  God,  were  sent 
to  revive  his  work,  gather  in  a  new  band  of  converts,  and  so  strengthen  the 
things  which  remained.  It  appears  to  have  been  an  error  of  great  magni- 
tude, that  after  the  successful  labors  of  Nettleton  and  Smith,  the  regular 
ministry  of  the  word  was  not  secured  and  sustained.  God's  providence  was 
strikingly  seen  in  causing  the  church  to  resume  their  efforts,  and  secure  reg- 
ular preaching  in  1841.  Had  the  effort  been  deferred  for  a  single  month, 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  church  would  have  been  now  extinct. 
MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Noah  Bishop,  James  Kilbourn. 
*Sp.  An.  2.  229. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MOHEGAK,  IN  MONTVILLE,  ORG.  JULY  9,  1832. 
Arison  Gleason,  April,  1835  Sept.  1848 


428  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

I).  W.  C.  Sterry,  June,  1848  Apr.    1851 

William  Palmer,  (Bapt.)       May,   1851  Dec.    1855 

Oliver  Brrncn,  Jr.  Oct.     1856  May,    1857 

H.  C.  Hay  den,  June,  1857  June,  1858 

J.  W.  Salter,  Aug.    1858 

The  meeting-house  was  erected  by  donations  of  their  friends,  in  1831. 
The  people  number  about  two  hundred  persons — one  third  Indians,  and  two- 
thirds  whites,  settled  on  the  tribe  land.  The  origin  of  the  church  was  in 
this  wise :  "  Miss  Sarah  L.  Huntington,  of  Norwich,  and  Miss  Elizabeth 
Raymond,  of  Montville,  commenced  a  day  school  at  the  house  of  Deacon 
William  Dolbeare,  in  December,  1829.  Their  compassion  was  moved,  in 
view  of  the  moral  desolations,  and  in  1830,  they  commenced  a  Sabbath 
School,  assisted  by  other  sisters  and  brethren,  of  kindred  spirit,  from  Nor- 
wich and  New  London.  Miss  Huntington  furnished  her  own  supplies,  and 
often  walked  six  miles  to  her  charge.  These  labors  of  love  she  continued  until 
her  marriage  with  Rev.  Eli  Smith,  and  her  entrance  on  a  foreign  mission. 
See  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Smith,  Sept.  1831.  Since  the  organization  of  the  church 
in  1832,  which  was  composed  of  five  whites  and  one  aged  female  Mohe- 
gan,  there  have  been  numerical  and  moral  improvements  in  the  church, 
schools  and  society.  The  funds  for  the  support  of  the  ministry  and  educa- 
tional purposes,  are  obtained  from  the  United  Slates,  and  from  friends  in 
Norwich,  New  London  and  vicinity.  Since  1848,  Gen.  William  Williams, 
of  Norwich,  assisted  by  other  brethren  in  Norwich  and  New  London,  has 
had  a  careful  supervision  of  their  religious  affairs.  For  several  years,  Gen. 
Williams  has  left  the  ministrations  of  his  own  pastor,  attended  service  here, 
superintended  the  Sabbath  School,  distributed  thousands  of  tracts,  and 
mostly  supported  the  minister.  Their  schools,  congregation,  society,  deco- 
rum and  progress,  would  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  those  in  any  of 
our  rural  districts. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MONROE,  (FORMERLY  NEW  STRATFORD,)  ORG.  DEC.   14, 

Elisha  Rexford,  Jan.     1765  Apr. 

JoJinNoyes,  1813  1814 

Asahel  Nettleton,  D.  D.  1814  1815 

Chauncey  G.  Lee,  Oct.     1821  Apr.    1826 

Amos  Bassett,  D.  D.,*  1826  1828 

Daniel  Jones,  Sept.  1828  July.   1835 

James  Kent,\  1837  1840 

Robert  D.  Gardner,  Mar.    1841  Sept.   1851 

Lewis  M.  Shepard,  Aug.   1853  June,  1857 

Edward  B.  Emerson,  April,  1858 

As  the  first  volume  of  the  Church  records  is  lost,  many  important  facts  are 
buried  in  oblivion.  Several  revivals  been  enjoyed  here  ;  two  while  Mr.  Net- 
tleton was  here  ;  on«  in  1814,  and  one  in  1815, — when  about  thirty  were 


History  of  the  Churches.  429 

added  to  the  church.  Memoir  of  Nettleton,  66.  Also  under,  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Lee,  Mr  Jones  and  Mr.  Kent.  The  last,  and  most  powerful  one,  was 
in  1851,  under  Mr.  Morgan's  labors,  when  between  thirty  and  forty  were  re- 
ceived to  the  church.  The  house  of  worship  is  new,  handsome,  and  paid  for. 
MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Tillotson  Babbitt. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  294.    Allen.     Eel.  Intel.  12.  735.    t  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MONTVILLE,  (FORMERLY  NEW  LONDON  NORTH,)  ORG.  1721. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

James  Hillhouse,  Oct.     1722  174° 

David  Jewett,*  Oct.     1739  June,  1783 

Roswell  Cook,  June,  1784  Apr.    1798 

Amos  G.  Thompson,  Sept.  1799  Oct.     1801 

Abisha  Alden,  Aug.    1803  Apr.    1826  1836 

Rodolphus  Landfear,  Aug.    1829  May,   1832 

Erastm  Ripley,  Jan.     1835  Nov.    1837 

Spencer  F.  Beard,  July,    1838  June,  1846 

John  W.  Salter,  Aug.    1847  Apr.    1858 

Thomas  L.  Shipman,  April,  1858  1859 

H.  C.  Hay  den,  Sept.  1859 

Mr.  Hillhouse  received  his  call  at  Boston,  Feb.  5,  1721.  His  family  re- 
main to  this  day.  The  distinguished  Senator,  James  Hillhouse,  of  New  Ha- 
ven, was  his  son.  The  church  has  been  blessed  with  revivals  at  several 
different  times.  For  an  account  of  a  revival  in  1741,  see  Tracy's  Great 
Awakening,  pp.  156-8.  The  house  of  worship  is  new  and  commodious. 
*  Sp.  An  8.  192.  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MORRIS,  (FORMERLY  LITCHFIELD  SOUTH  FARMS,)  ORG.  1768. 

1781 

1814          Dec.    1849 

Oct  1815          June,  1848 
1822  Aug.   1830 

1829 
1833 
1834 
1836 
1837? 
1838? 

Jan.   1841 


The  grant  for  "winter  privileges"  dates  back  to  1747;  the  incorporation 


George  Beckwith,* 

1772 

Amos  Chase,  t 

1787 

William  R.  Weeks,  D.  D.,t 

Jan.      1815 

Amos  Pettengill,§ 

April,  1816 

Henry  Robinson, 

1823 

Veron  D.  Taylor, 

1831 

James  F.  Warner, 

1833 

Ralph  S.  Crampton, 

1834 

Stephen  Hubbell, 

June,  1836? 

B.  Y.  Messenger, 

1837? 

Richard  Woodruff,  (c.) 

Oct.     1838  ? 

David  L.  Parmelee, 

Aug.  1841 

H.  H.  McFarland, 

Nov.    1859 

430  Hislory  of  the  Churches. 

of  the  Society,  1767.  There  have  been  several  revivals,  with  considerable  in- 
gatherings at  frequent  intervals,  from  1799  ;  in  six  different  years,  from  23 
to  73  were  added.  In  1814,  was  the  most  extensive  work,  under  the  labors 
of  Dr.  Xettleton  ;  an  account  of  it  was  written  by  James  Morris,  and  carefully 
preserved  in  manuscript.  It  gives  the  names  and  age  of  80  individuals,  the 
time  of  each  one's  hopeful  conversion,  and  some  account  of  the  religious  ex- 
ercises of  almost  all  of  them.  See  extracts  in  Memoir  of  Dr.  Nettleton,  pp. 
70-77. 

South  Farms  Society  became  the  town  of  Morris  in  1859. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Whittlesey,  Simeon  Woodruff,  Samuel  G. 
Orton,  John  Pierpont,  (Unita.)  John  W.  Peck,  D.  D.  (Bapt.) 

*  Litchf.  Centen.  72.  t  Sp.  An.  1,  592.  Litchf.  Centen.  72.  J  Sp.  An.  4, 473.  §  Sp. 
An.  2,  524.  Allen.  Litchf'.  Centeu.  127.  Memoir  by  Rev.  L.  Hart,  1834. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MT.  CARMEL,  IN  HAMDEN,  ORG.  JAN.  26,  1764. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Nathaniel  Sherman,*  May,    1769  Aug.    1772.  1797 

Joshua  Perry, t  Oct.      1783  1790  1812 

Dan  Bradley,!  1792  1800?  1838 

AsaLyman,§  Sept.    1800  April,    1803  1836- 

JohnHydeJ  May,     1806  Jan.       1811  1849 

Eliphalet  B.  Coleman,  Feb.      1812  Nov.      1825  1857  ? 

Stephen  Hubbell,  May,    1830  May,     1836 

James  Birney,  June,   1842  March,  1846 

Israel  P.  Warren,  July,    1846  Sept.     1851 

D.  H.  Thayer,  Jan.      1853 

This  Church  has  had  a  frequent  change  of  ministers,  and  none  have  ever 
died  among  them  in  office.  Revivals  have  been  usual,  as  in  other  Churches 
in  the  vicinity.  The  Church  and  Society  have  for  several  years  been  grow- 
ing in  numbers  and  strength,  with  some  increase  of  population  and  the  in- 
troduction of  manufactures.  Rel.  Intel.  13,  218. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — George  A.  Dickerman. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  480.     Allen.    t  Allen.    \  Sp.  An.  1.  656.    §  Allan.     \  Sp.  An.  2. 192. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MYSTIC  BRIDGE,  IN  STONINGTON,  ORG.  JAN.  20,  1852. 
Walter  R.  Long,  Sept.  1853 

The  Church  was  organized  with  a  membership  of  37,  mostly  from  the 
First  Church  in  Stonington.  There  have  been  four  seasons  of  revival 
during  its  brief  existence,  one  immediately  after  its  organization,  also  in 
'53,  '55  and  '58. 


History  of  the  Churches.  431 

The   Nazareth   Church,   in     Sterling,  (formerly    Voluntown,)   Org.   Feb. 

13,  1772. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Solomon  Morgan,*  April,  1772  Feb.    1782  Sept.  1804 

Allen  Campbell,  1794 

This  Church  has  had  but  one  pastor,  who  afterwards  was  settled  in 
Canterbury  and  North  Canaan.  They  encouraged  Mr.  Campbell,  one  of  their 
own  members  to  preach  for  them,  in  which  they  had  the  approbation  of  the 
Association.  The  Church  though  not  formerly  dissolved,  is  virtually  extinct. 

*  Allen.    Sp.  An.  2,  526. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NAUGATCCK,  (FORMERLY  SALEM  SOCIETY,)  ORG.  FEB.  22,  1781. 

Medad  Rogers,  1781  1784? 

Abraham  Fowler,*  Jan.    1785  Mar.      1799         Nov.      1815 

Noah  J.  Simons,  Oct.    1799  1800 

Jabez  Chadwick,  Dec.    1800  Mar.      1803 

Matthias  Oazier,  Ma7>  1804 

Stephen  Dodd,t  1811  April,    1817        Feb.      1856 

Amos  Pettengill,J  Jan.    1823  Aug.      1830 

J.  B.  Richardson,  1832  1834 

Seth  Sackett,  Oct.     1834  Jan.       1838 

Chauncey  G.  Lee,  Jan.    1838  Nov.      1840 

H.  A.  Taylor,  1840  1841? 

Marshall  Eames,  1842  April,    1843 

C.  S.  Shermnn,  July,  1843  April,    1844 

Albert  K.  Teele,  June,  1845  Oct.       1849 

Charles  S.  Sherman,  Nov.  1849 

This  Church  was  originally  formed  of  16  members,  mostly  from  the  First 
Church  in  Waterbury.  The  town  was  then  a  parish  of  Waterbury,  and 
known  by  the  name  of  Salem. 

In  January,  1781,  it  was  "voted  to  make  a  petition  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, to  lay  a  land  tax  of  one  shilling  upon  the  acre,  upon  all  the  land  in  the 
Society  of  Salem,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  meeting  house."  This 
meeting  house  was  completed  in  1782.  Another  was  built  occupying  a  new 
and  more  central  site  in  1831.  In  1853  this  was  sold  and  removed,  and  the 
present  house  of  worship  dedicated  in  Sept.  1855. 

The  Church  has  experienced  a  varied  and  often  a  trying  history  ;  at  one 
time  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  elements  in  it  refused  to  coalesce ; 
at  another,  intemperance  affected  the  standing  and  divided  the  ranks  of 
its  members  ;  and  still  later,  there  was  a  division  of  feeling  on  the  question 
of  Old  and  New  School  Theology. 

In  addition  to  these  troubles,  the  Society  has  had  to  struggle  with 
limited  means  and  a  change  of  ministry,  the  latter  growing  in  part  out  of 
the  former. 


432 


Hislory  of   the  Churches. 


With  the  growth,  however,  of  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  town, 
the  Society  has  increased  in  ability  and  has  erected  its  present  beautiful  edi- 
fice at  a  cost  of  $16,000,  expecting  at  the  time  to  cancel  every  pecuniary  obli- 
gation in  a  period  of  five  years.  This  would  probably  have  been  done  but  for 
the  commercial  distress  which  intervened.  It  is  gratifying,  however,  to  add 
that  the  Church  has  for  a  long  time  been  in  a  very  harmonious  state,  has 
gradually  increased  in  membership,  and  been  repeatedly  favored  with  the 
gentle  and  refreshing  dews  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  whole  number  of  per- 
sons who  have  been  admitted  to  the  Church  is  645. 

MINISTERS  KAISED  UP. — John  H.  Pettengill,  John  G.  Hull,  (Ep.)  Thomas 
Lewis. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  280.      t  Allen.     %  Sp.  An.  2.  524.      Allen.      Litchf.   Centen.    127. 
Memoir  by  Rev.  L.  Hart,  1834. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  NEW  BRITAIX,  ORG.  APRIL  19,  1758. 
MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Smalley,  D.  D.,*  April,  1758  June,    1820 

Newton  Skinner, t  Feb.     1810  March,  1825 

Henry  Jones,  Oct.      1825  Dec.      1827 

Jason  Atwater,  1827  Nov.      1828 

Jonathan  Cogswell,  D.  D.,        April,  1829  April,    1834 

Dwight  M.  Seward,  Feb.    1836  June,    1842 

Chester  S.  Lyman,  Feb.    1843  April,    1845 

C.  S.  Sherman,  May,  1845  w!849 

E.  B.  Andrews,  June,  1850  Nov.      1851 

Horace  Winslow,  Dec.    1852  Dec.      1857 

Lavalette  Perrin,  Feb.     1858 

This  Church  has  been  greatly  blessed  of  God,  having  enjoyed  frequent 
revivals,  and  some  of  great  power.  The  frequent  changes  in  the  ministry 
during  the  last  twenty  years  have  been  occasioned  chiefly  by  failure  of 
health  in  the  pastors. 

The  most  signal  work  of  the  Spirit  under  Dr.  Smalley's  ministry  was  in 
1784-5,  adding  38;  253  in  all,  during  his  ministry;  28  admitted  to  certain 
Church  privileges,  previous  to  1767,  without  professing  vital  piety.  There 
was  a  signal  revival  under  the  second  pastor  in  1821,  119  making  profession 
of  faith,  248  in  all.  Mr.  Skinner  was  a  man  of  great  physical  as  well  as 
mental  strength.  Under  every  pastor  there  have  been  consideraable  acces- 
sions, and  also  in  1828-9,  when  without  one.  The  progressive  and  conserv- 
ative elements,  which  agitated  churches  largely  through  New  England,  led 
to  a  division  of  the  church  in  1842. 

The  first  meeting  house,  a  plain  building,  has  long  since  disappeared ;  the 
second,  a  house  much  admired  in  its  time,  built  in  1822,  is  now  used  for  sec- 
lar  purposes;  the  third,  built  in  1855,  is  regarded  as  a  model  of  church  ar- 
chitecture. Its  centennial  anniversary  was  observed  April  19,  1858. 


History  of  the  Churches.  433 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.— William  Whittlesey,  Eliphalet  Whittle,  y.  L.-vi 
\\".  Hart,  Henry  Eddy,  John  S.  Whittlescy,  Jonathan  Bird,  Burdett  Hart. 
*Sp.  An.  1559.    Allen.    *Sp.  An.  1. 


THE  SOUTH  CHURCH  IN  NEW  BRITAIN,  ORG.  JULY  5,  1842. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Rockwell,  Jan.     1843  June,  1858 

C.  L.  Goodell,  Feb.     1859 

The  growth  of  the  village  prepared  the  way  for  a  second  church,  besides 
those  of  other  denominations.  Its  house  of  worship  was  erected  immediately. 
Original  number  of  members,  120,  who  were  dismissed  from  the  Central 
Church.  Added  during  fifteen  years,  270 ;  baptisms,  144.  Contributions 
for  benevolent  objects  in  fifteen  years,  $13,418.91 ;  in  1854,  $1,983.49.  Ag- 
gregate with  home  expenses,  $26,000,  exclusive  of  cost  of  house  of  wor- 
ship. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Levi  W.  Hart,  E.  Maynard,  (f.) 


THE  CHCKCH  IN  NEW  CANAAN,  ORG.  JUNE  20,  1733. 
JohnEells,  June,  1733  June,  1741 

Robert  Silliman,*  Feb.    1742  Aug.    1771  April,  1781 

William  Drummond,  July,  1772  May,    1777 

Justus  Mitchell,!  Jan.     1783  Feb.     1806 

William  Bonney,  Feb.     1808  Aug.    1831 

Theophilus  Smith,  *  Aug.    1831  Aug.    1853 

Frederick  W.  Williams,          Feb.     1854  Dec.     1859 

Ralph  Smith,  May,    1860 

The  Canaan  Society,  lying  in  Norwalk  and  Stamford,  and  occupying  the 
same  territory  with  the  present  town  of  New  Canaan,  was  incorporated  in 
1731  ;  the  town  in  1801.  The  church  was  formed  with  twenty-four  mem- 
bers, thirteen  from  the  Norwalk  church,  and  eleven  from  Stamford  ;  in  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  years,  nine  hundred  and  twenty-six  persons  havi- 
been  received  into  the  church.  Mr.  Silliman  settled  in  Chester  in  1772. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — James  Richards,  D.  0.,§  Amzi  Benedict,  William 
Carter,  William  B.  Weed,  James  S.  Hoyt,  Daniel  Smith,  Edwin  Stevens, 
(f.)  Darius  Hoyt,  (h.)  David  C.  Comstock. 

*  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  1.  866.  Allen,  t  Cong.  Y.  Book,  2. 104.  §  Sp.  An.  4.  99.  Al- 
len. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  FAIRFIELD,  ORG.  Nov.  9,  1742. 
Benajah  Case,  Nov.    1742  Jan.     1753 

James  Taylor,  Mar.     1758  June,  1764 

56 


434  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Davenport,  1769 

Joseph  Peck,  June,  1769  1775 

Mills,  1780 

Kittleton,  1782 

Medad  Rogers,*  1786  Oct.     1822  Aug.  1824 

Abraham  0.  Stansbury,          Oct.     1824  Jan.     1827 

Daniel  Crocker,  Oct.     1827  Mar.    1831 

George  Coan,  June,  1833  May,    1835 

Benajah  Y.  Morse,  Apr.    1835  Mar.    1838 

David  C.  Perry,  Dec.     1838  Nov.    1844 

Henry  H.  Morgan,  Dec.     1845  May,    1849 

Lewis  Pennell,  Oct.     1849  Oct.     1853 

Aaron  B.  Peffers,  May,    1855  May,    1858 

Frederick  J.  Jacteon,  June,  1858  1859 

Ezra  D.  Kinney,  1859 

There  was  a  noted  revival  of  religion  in  1818,  by  which  the  whole  com- 
munity was  moved,  and  there  was  an  ingathering  of  one  hundred  or  more  to 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  There  was  a  meeting  house  in  1755,  and  the  society 
built  another  in  1786.  In  1836,  the  society  removed  the  site  of  the  house, 
by  which  some  became  disaffected  and  withdrew. 

*  Allen. 


The  First  Church  in  New  Hartfcrd,  Org.  1738. 
Jonathan  Marsh,  Oct     1739  July,  1794 

Edward  D.  Griffin,  D.  D.*       June,   1795  Aug.    1801  Nov.     1837 

Amasa  Jerome,  t  Aug.     1802  Dec.     1813 

Cyrus  Yale,}  Oct.      1814  Dec.    1834 

Cyrus  Yale,}  1837  May,     1854 

This  church  was  greatly  reduced  in  numbers  by  the  formation  of  the 
South  Church  in  1848.  Public  worship  was  suspended  after  Mr.  Yale's 
death,  and  it  disbanded  Oct.  1859.  The  location  of  the  house,  on  a  high 
bleak  hill,  also  conspired  to  effect  this  result.  There  were  extensive  re- 
vivals, particularly  under  Dr.  Griffin  and  Mr.  Yale.  In  three  different  years, 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  ten  were  added,  and  in  four  other  years, 
48  to  78.  En.  Mag.  1.  217,  265.  Rel.  Intel  16.  702. 

*  8p.  An.  4.  26.  Allen.  Litchf.  Centen.  109.  Am.  Qu.  Reg.  13,  365.  t  Allen. 
Litchf.  Centen.  118.  }  Sp.  An.  2.  615. 


THE  NORTH  CHURCH  IN  NEW  HARTFORD,  ORG.  SEPT.  25,  1828. 
Burr  Baldwin,  Jan.     1830  Feb.      1833 

Willis  Lord,  Oct.     1834  Dec.      1838 

John  Woodbridge,  D.  D.,         April,  1839  Jan.      1842 


History  of  the  Churches.  435 

MINISTERS.  3KTTLKD.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Hiram  Day,  1842  1844 

Alexander  Leadbetter,  May,    1844  May,     1849 

Joseph  A.  Saxton,  Jan.    1851  Oct       1852 

Franklin  A.  Spencer,  Sept.  1853 

This  Church  was  originally  a  colony  from  the  First  Church  of  the  town, 
and  consisted  of  62  members.  Out  of  the  thirty  years  since  it  was  organ- 
ized, it  has  had  only  23  years  of  pastoral  labor.  The  remaining  portion  of 
time  has  been  supplied  temporarily  by  different  persons. 

There  were  limited  revivals  under  the  ministry  of  the  first  and  fifth  pas- 
tors. Mr.  Day's  ministry  was  attended  with  many  conversions.  There 
have  been  three  refreshings  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  since  the  settle- 
ment of  the  present  pastor. 

In  1850  the  church  edifice  underwent  a  very  extensive   and  thorough 
repair,  and  is  now  one  of  the  best  in  the  County.     It  is  lighted  with  gas. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — William  Goodwin,  (Bap.) 


THE  SOUTH  CHURCH  is  NEW  HARTFORD,  OKG.  Auo.  8,  1848. 
James  C.  Houghton,  Dec   1851  Feb.    1854 

Kdwin  Hall,  Jr.  Dec.   1854 

The  South  Church  was  formed  from  the  First  Church  of  New  Hartford1, 
whose  house  of  worship  is  located  on  what  is  called  Town  Hill,  nearly  two 
miles  north  of  the  house  of  worship  occupied  by  the  South  Society.  The 
principal  reason  for  the  separation  was  the  inconveniently  long  distance  the 
people  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  were  compelled  to  travel  in  order  to  at- 
tend public  worship. 

The  Church  has  never  been  a  very  strong  one,  and  has  enjoyed  few  exten- 
sive revivals  of  religion,  though  it  has  not  been  without  some  seasons  of  re- 
freshing from  on  high. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  is  NEW  HAVES,  ORG.  ACG.  22,  1639. 
Public  worship  had  been  maintained,  and  the  word  of  God  preached,  un- 
der a  provisional   arrangement  or    "  plantation  covenant,"  from  the  landing 
of  the  first  settlers,  April  18,  1638.     Rev.  John  Davenport,  B.  D.  and  Rev. 
Samuel  Eaton,  being  the  ministers. 

John  Davenport,*  Pastor.        Aug.    1639  1667         Mar.      1670 

William  Hooke,t  Teacher,  1644  1656        Mar.      1678 

Nicholas  Street,!  Teacher,      Nov.    1659  April,    1674 

John  Harriman,l  1674  1682 

Joseph  Taylor,l  1674  April,    1682 

James  Pierpont,§  Pastor,         July,   1684  Nov.      1714 

Joseph  NoyesJ  July,  1716  June,    1761 

Chauncey  Whittelsey,**        Mar.    1758  July,     1787 


436  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

James  Dana,tt                          April,  1789  Nov.      1805         Aug.     1802 

Moses  Stuart,t{                        Mar.    1806  Jan.      1810        Jan.       1852 

Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  D.D.,§§  April,  1812  Dec.      1822         Mar.      1858 
Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.,                Mar.     1825 

Nathaniel  H.  Eygleston,\\    Sept.    1850  1851 

*Sp.  An.  1, 93, 96  ;  Allen ;  Math.  Mag.  1,  292.  fSp.  An.  1, 104 ;  Allen.  \  Neither  went 
settled  nor  dismissed,  but  labored  in  the  ministry  of  the  word  from  1674  to  1682.  §Sp 
An.  1,  205 ;  Allen.  |  Sp.  An.  1,  362  ;  Allen.  **  Sp.  An.  1,  414 ;  Allen,  ft  Sp.  Au.  1, 
565 ;  Allen.  \\  Sp.  An.  2,  475.  §§  Memorial  Discourses ;  Cong.  Qr.  2,  245.  [|  Mr. 
Egglestou  had  charge  of  the  pulpit  during  Dr.  Bacon's  absence  in  Europe. 

The  first  pastor  and  leading  members  of  the  Church  came  from  the  parish 
of  St.  Stephens,  Coleman  Street,  London,  to  Boston,  in  1637,  arriving  June 
26.  In  April,  1638,  they  came  to  New  Haven.  The  Church  is  the  oldest 
institution  in  the  New  Haven  colony.  Its  first  connection  in  the  support 
of  public  worship  was  with  the  town.  East  Haven,  North  Haven,  and  West 
Haven,  having  been  successively  established  as  parishes,  the  separate  rec- 
ords of  the  First  Ecclesiastical  Society  in  New  Haven  begin  on  the  first  of 
July,  1715. 

The  Society  has  a  permanent  "  ministerial  fund''  of  about  $15,000,  partly 
the  result  of  ancient  donations  and  endowments,  and  partly  the  proceeds  of 
a  subscription  made  under  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Dana. 

This  Church  has  shared  in  the  revivals  which  in  successive  ages  have 
been  granted  to  New  England.  In  the  pastorate  of  John  Davenport,  there 
appears  to  have  been  a  special  efficacy  in  the  means  of  grace,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  number  of  the  sons  of  this  Church  that  entered  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry at  that  period.  An  allusion  to  the  multiplied  conversions  at  that  time 
is  made  in  the  Election  Sermon  of  James  Fitch,  who  could  speak  from  his 
own  recollection.  In  1735,  while  Joseph  Noyes  was  pastor,  there  was 
some  special  revival,  forerunning  "  the  great  awakening  "  that  came  a  few 
years  later.  In  the  conflict  incidental  to  "the  great  awakening"  of  1740, 
and  subsequent  to  it,  the  Church  was  divided.  The  next  marked  revival 
was  in  the  pastorate  of  Moses  Stuart,  in  the  year  1808.  The  years  1815,  and 
1820-21,  in  the  pastorate  of  the  late  Dr.  Taylor,  were  memorable  as  years  of 
gracious  visitation.  Under  the  ministry  of  the  present  pastor,  the  years 
1828,  1831,  1832,  1837,  1841  and  1858,  have  been  the  years  most  marked 
with  blessing.  Mem.  of  Nettleton,  81,  125—33,  159.  Bel.  Intel.  5,  668, 
762  ;  6,  26. 

Mr.  Pierpont  was  one  of  three  prime  movers  in  founding  Yale  College,  and 
a  member  of  Say  brook  Synod,  1708,  pp.  7,  8. 

In  connection  with  this  church  there  is  a  City-mission  Chapel,  built  by 
subscription  in  1858,  and  know  as  the  Davenport  Chapel.  Public  worship 
is  regularly  maintained  there  nnder  the  patronage  of  the  First  Church,  the 
Rev.  Edward  E.  Atwater  being  the  minister  in  charge. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Michael  Wiggles  worth,*  Samuel  Cheever,t  Sam- 
uel Street,!  John  Harriman,  Thomas  Cheever,§  Noadiah  Russell,  John  Dav- 
enport, (Stamford,)  Stephen  Mix,  Joseph  Moss,  Amos  Munson,  Samuel 


History  of  the  Churches.  437 

Pierpont,  John  Hubbard,  Samuel  Munson,  Stephen  White,  Benjamin  Tal- 
madge,|  John  Noyes,1F  Jason  Atwater,  Achilles  Mansfield,  Sereno  Edwards 
Dwight,  D,  D.,  Gardiner  Spring,  D.  D.,  George  Chandler,  (h.)  David  L. 
Ogden,  Charles  C.  Darling,  Daniel  D.  Tappan,  Seth  Bliss,  William  Bush- 
nell,  Jonathan  Rowland,  Abraham  C.  Baldwin,  Joseph  B.  Stevens,  John 
Mitchell,  Oliver  B.  Bidwell,  Jeremiah  R.  Barnes,  (h.)  Lyman  II.  Atwater,  D. 
D.,  John  C.  Backus,  Phineas  Blakeraan,  (h.)  Joseph  D.  Hull,  Aldace  Walker, 
William  T.  Bacon,  John  H.  Pettingill,  Alfred  E.  Ives,  Alfred  C.  Raymond, 
John  E.  Chandler,  (f.)  James  C.  Moffatt,  Charles  A.  Raymond,  (Bapt) 
Matthew  Hale  Smith,  George  B.  Hubbard,  (h.)  Elisha  W.  Cook,  Chauncey 
Goodrich,  William  II.  Goodrich,  William  L.  Kingsley,  William  A.  Macy, 
James  R.  Mershon,  (h.)  Charles  Henry  Emerson,  (h.)  Kinsley  Twining, 
Leonard  W.  Bacon,  Edward  Chester,  (f.)  Jonathan  L.  Jenkins,  John  H. 
Anketell,  (Ep.)  Edward  Walker,  George  M.  Smith,  George  B.  Bacon. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  143.      t  Sp.  An.  1,  253.      t  Sp.  An.  1,  104.    Allen.      §  Sp.  An.  1,  244. 
I  Sp.  An.  3,  35.    1  Sp.  An.  1,  363.     Allen. 


THE  NORTH  CHURCH,  OK  THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  SOCIETY,  NEW  HAVEN, 

ORG.  MAY  7,  1742. 

This  Church,  under  the  name  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  White  Haven 
Society,  was  organized  May  7,  1742. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Bird,  Oct.  1751  Jan.     1768  May,  1784 

Jonathan  Edwards,  D.  D.,*         Jan.  1769  May,    1795  Aug.  1801 

A  Church  was  formed  by  secession  from  this,  called  The  Church  of  Christ 
in  the  Fair  Haven  Society,  June  20,  1771. 

Ally n  Mather,  t  Feb.    1773  Nov.  1784 

Samuel  Austin,  D.  D.,t  Nov.  1786  June,  1790  Dec.   1830 

These  Churches  were  united  under  the  name  of  The  Church  of  Christ 
in  the  United  Societies  of  White  Haven  and  Fair  Haven,  Nov.  27,  1796. 
John  Gammil,  D.  D.,§  Nov.    1798  Nov.      1801 

Samuel  MerwinJ  Feb.     1805  Dec.      1831         Sept.     1856 

Leicester  A.  Sawyer,  June,   1835  Nov.      1837 

Samuel  W.  S.  Dutton,  D.  D.,  June,    1838 

This  Church  was  formed  during  "  The  Great  Awakening,"  at  the  time  of 
Whitlield's  second  visit  to  this  country.  The  pastor  of  the  first  and  only 
Church  in  New  Haven,  and  a  majority  of  the  Church  and  Society,  were  op- 
posed to  the  revival  and  to  Whitfield's  preaching.  Those  who  favored  the 
revival,  called  "  New  Lights,'1  seceded,  and  were  formed  into  a  Church,  by 
some  of  the  leading  ministers  of  the  "  New  Lights,"  convened  in  Council, 
viz :  Rev.  Messrs.  Samuel  Cook,  John  Graham,  Elisha  Kent,  and  Joseph 
Bellamy.  Under  the  partial  union  of  Church  and  State  which  then  existed, 
oppressive  laws  were  passed  to  embarrass  and  suppress  them,  and  those 
like  them  ;  the  "  Old  Lights,"  being  a  majority,  both  in  the  State  and  in  the 
Associations  and  Consociations.  This  Church  could  legally  have  no  one  to 


438  History  of  the  Churches. 

preach  to  them,  except  by  consent  of  the  pastor  and  a  majority  of  the  parish 
of  the  First  Church,  which  of  course  they  could  not  obtain.  Under  this 
restriction,  eminent  and  excellent  men,  like  Rev.  Dr.  Finley,  afterwards  Pres- 
ident of  Princeton  College,  were  arrested  and  punished  for  preaching  to  this 
Church.  Its  members  and  adherents  were  taxed  for  the  support  of  the 
First  Church,  besides  sustaining  the  expense  of  their  own  religious  services. 
This  oppressive  treatment  continued  for  15  years,  until  the  New  Lights  became 
a  majority  in  the  town,  and  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Society,  from  which  they  had 
never  been  released,  and  proceeded  to  vote  the  salary  to  the  minister  of  the 
New  Church  :  whereupon,  on  the  petition  of  the  "  Old  Lights,"  the  Legisla- 
ture interposed,  and  divided  the  Society  into  two,  according  to  elective  affin- 
ity ;  there  being  of  the  "Old  Lights"  111,  and  of  the  "New  Lights  "  212. 
The  new  Society  was  called  "The  White  Haven  Society."  One  of  the  pro- 
fessed reasons  for  the  original  secession  in  1742,  was  the  adherence  of  the 
First  Church  and  pastor  to  the  Saybrook  platform,  which  the  New  Lights 
insisted  had  never  been  adopted  by  the  Church. 

After  about  fifty  years  the  two  Churches  became,  and  have  ever  since 
been,  harmonious. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — They  cannot  now  be  mentioned  except  for  the 
last  half  century,  and  those  but  partially.  Frederick  W.  Hotchkiss,  Jo- 
seph Mix,  Thomas  Punderson,  Samuel  Austin,  D.  D.,1  David  A.  Sherman, 
Prof.  Eleazar  T.  Fitch,  D.  D.,  Prof.  Chauncey  A.  Goodrich,  D.  D.,**  Henry 
Herrick,  (h.)  0.  E.  Daggett,  D.  D.,  Edward  0.  Dunning,  A.  Hamilton  Bishop, 
John  D.  Smith,  William  W.  Woodworth,  Samuel  J.  M.  Merwin,  Joseph 
Brewster,  (Ep.)  Andrew  T.  Pratt,  William  B.  Clarke. 

*Sp.  An.  1,  653.  Allen.  Am.  Qr.  Eeg.  8,  290.  t  Allen.  J  Mendon  AB.  156.  Sp. 
An.  2.  21.  Allen.  §  Allen.  |  Cong.  Y.  Book,  1857, 118.  T  Am.  Qr.  Keg.  9,  201.  Sp. 
An.  2, 221.  **  New  Englauder,  18,  328. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  YALE  COLLEGE,  NEW  HAVEN,  ORG.  JUNE  30,  1757. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED, 

Naphtali  Daggett,  D.  D.,*  1755  1780 

Samuel  Wales,  D.  D.,t  1782  1794 

Timothy  Dwight,  D.  D.|  1805  1817 

Eleazar  Thompson  Fitch,  D.  D.,          1817  1852 

George  Park  Fisher,  1854 

The  existence  of  the  College  Church  is  due  in  part  to  the  commotions 
which  followed  the  great  awakening  of  1740;  in  particular,  to  a  dissatisfac- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  College  government  with  the  doctrinal  views  and  the 
preaching  of  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes,  the  pastor  of  the  First  Church,  where  the  stu- 
dents attended  worship  from  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  College  to  New 
Haven.  It  was  also  believed  by  President  Clapp,  who  had  a  leading  part  in 
the  establishment  of  the  Church,  that  the  members  of  College  would  be 
more  profited  by  preaching  and  pastoral  service,  which  should  be  provided 
for  them  exclusively,  and  adapted  to  their  peculiar  character. 

In  174H,  the  corporation  voted  to  choose  a  Professor  of  Divinity,  as  soon 
as  they  could  procure  the  means  of  support  for  him.  This  they  were  ena- 
bled to  do  by  a  gift  from  Hon.  Philip  Livingston,  and  by  other  donations. 


History  of  the  Churches.  439 

Pres.  Stiles,§  acted  as  College  pastor  for  a  time  after  the  death  of  Prof. 
Daggett.  The  College  Church  has  enjoyed  great  prosperity.  Numerous 
revivals  of  religion  have  occurred,  at  short  intervals  since  its  formation, 
which  have  given  to  the  Church  a  large  number  of  devoted  and  able  minis- 
ters, and  to  the  State  a  large  body  of  public  men  of  enlightened  Christian 
principle.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  revivals  were  those  of  1802,  1831 
and  1858.  The  number  of  members  belonging  to  the  College  Church  is 
larger  at  present  than  at  any  former  time.  See  Prof.  Fisher's  Century 
Sermon,  1857. 

*Sp.  An.  1.479.  Allen.  tSp.  An.  1.  710.  JSp.  An.  •>.  1-VJ.  Allen.  §  Sp.  Aii.  1. 
470.  Allen.  Sparks'  Amer.  Biog.,  Second  Series,  vol.  6. 


THE  THIRD  CIIURCH  IN  NEW  HAVEN,  ORG.  SEPT.  6,  1826. 
MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  D.  D.,*  1826  1830         March,  1858 

Charles  A.  Boardman,  March,  1830       .     Sept.     1832 

Elisha  Lord  Cleaveland,D.  D.,  July,    1833 

The  Church  has  occupied  three  houses  of  worship  ;  the  first  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Chapel  and  Union  streets,  from  1830  to  1838;  the  second  in  Court 
street,  between  State  and  Orange,  from  1841  to  1856 ;  and  the  third  in 
Church  street,  fronting  the  public  square. 

Since  Jan.  1st,  1856,  the  congregation  has  doubled  its  numbers  ;  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-eight  have  been  added  to  the  Church,  of  whom  ninety-seven 
were  by  profession.  Seventy  of  these  made  profession  since  the  great  revi- 
val of  1858.  The  Church  has  enjoyed  many  seasons  of  refreshing  from  the 
Lord,  but  none  so  remarkable  as  that  of  the  last  year.  Within  the  above 
named  period  of  three  years,  the  annual  contribution  to  the  cause  of  foreign 
missions  has  increased  from  $300  to  about  $1000. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Andrew  Benton,  (h.)  Edward  E.  Atwater,  Da- 
vid Breed,  Charles  II.  Bullard,  Joseph  Rowell,  (h.;  Everet  W.  Bedinger,  John 
C.  Shackleford,  (h.)  Henry  Powers. 

*  Cong.  Y.  Book,  6,  136. 


THE  TEMPLE  ST.  CHURCH,  NEW  HAVEN,  (COLORED,)  ORG.  SEPT.  1829. 
Simeon  S.  Jocelyn,  1829  1834 

David  Dolie,    '  1835  1837 

Amos  G.  Beman,  Sept.   1841  Jan.  1853 

Hiram  Bingham,  Mar.    1859  Jan.  1860 

William  T.  Catto,  Jan.     1860 


THE  COLLEGE  STREET  CHURCH,  ORG.  AUG.  31,   1831. 
Henry  G.  Ludlow,  May    1837  Mar.    1842 

Edward  Strong,  Dec.    1842 


440  History  of  the  Churches. 

For  two  years  the  Church  worshiped  in  the  Orange  Street  Chapel ;  three 
years  in  a  large  hall  in  the  Exchange  building  ;  and  from  September,  1836,  in 
a  house  of  worship  erected  for  it  in  Church  street.  Here  it  remained  struggling 
along  with  various  success,  sustained  chiefly  by  the  self-denying  and  extra- 
ordinary sacrifices  of  a  few  leading  men.  Its  house  of  worship  being  found 
less  convenient  and  pleasant  than  had  been  anticipated,  it  was  sold  in  1848, 
and  its  present  commodious  and  beautiful  sanctuary  erected  in  College  st. 
From  the  period  of  this  last  removal,  the  growth  and  general  prosperity  of 
the  church  have  been  uniform  and  comparatively  rapid.  For  the  first  six 
years  of  its  existence,  it  had  no  pastor,  but  had  the  ministrations,  for  periods 
of  from  three  to  six  months,  of  Revs.  Waters  Warren,  Samuel  Griswold, 
James  Boyle,  Dexter  Clary,  Austin  Putnam,  John  Ingersoll,  and  the  late 
N.  W.  Taylor,  D.  D. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Enoch  Hewitt,  (h.)  William  W.  Atwater,  (h.)  Wm. 
A.  Thompson,  Joseph  Chandler,  Joseph  A.  Prime,  (h.)  Henry  Losch  (h.)  Da- 
rius Hoyt,  (h.)  Samuel  W.  Strong,  H.  M.  Colton,  (h.)  A.  B.  Hitchcock,  (h.) 
Irem  W.  Smith,  Glen  Wood,  (h.)  James  A.  Brainerd. 


THE  HOWE  STREET  CHURCH  IN  NEW  HAVEN,  ORG.  MARCH  14,  1838. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Leicester  A.  Sawyer,  July,    1838  Oct.     1840 

Abraham  C.  Baldwin,  Jan.     1842  June,  1845 

William  D.  L.  Love,  Apr.     1848  Mar.    1852 

S.  Hale  Higgins,  Mar.     1852  -May ,  1855 

David  H.  Hamilton,  Mar.     1855  Jan.     1858 

0.  D.  Murray,  (lie.)  May,     1859 

Edwin  Dimock,  Jan.     1860 

This  church  originated  with  the  efforts  of  the  City  Missionary  Society  in 
parts  of  the  city  remote  from  other  places  of  worship.  Public  worship  was 
held  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  Broadway  School-house, — then  for  about  four 
years  in  a  carriage  shop,  fitted  up  for  the  purpose  in  Park  street, — till  a 
church  edifice  was  opened  in  Howe  street,  in  Jan.  1842.  The  church,  though 
laboring  under  embarassments  and  discouragements,  has  ever  been  harmoni- 
ous and  united.  It  has  been  much  blessed  with  revivals, — there  having 
been  years  at  a  time,  when  additions  were  made  by  profession  at  every  com- 
munion season 


THE  CHAPKL  STREET  CHURCH  is  NEW  HANEN,  ORG.  Nov.  4,  1838. 
N.  W.  Taylor,  D.  D.,  Nov.     1838  1839  Mar.    1858 

John  0.  Colton,*  Nov.     1839  Apr.    1840 

Joseph  P.  Thompson,  D.  D.,   Oct     1840  Mar.    1845 

Leverett  Griggs,  Aug.    1846  Sept.    1847 

William  T.  Eustis,  Mar.     1848 


History  of  the  Churches.  44 1 

There  were  sixty-one  members  at  the  organization.  The  death  of  the 
first  pastor,  following  so  soon  after  his  ordination,  was  a  severe  trial.  Al- 
though the  house  of  worship  is  somewhat  removed  from  the  dwellings  of 
the  citizens,  yet  the  church  and  congregation  have  steadily  grown,  and  have- 
been  compelled  to  enlarge  their  accommodations;  having  outlived  the  days 
of  feeble  infancy,  and  attained  a  position  of  strength  and  stability  which 
may  well  compare  with  any  of  the  city  congregations. 

The  church  has  shared  largely  in  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
years  1840,  (while  the  Church  had  no  pastor,)  1841,  '42,  '4:5,  '49,  '51,  '55, 
and  '58,  have  boon  specially  marked  for  the  manifestations  of  the  Divine  Pow- 
er in  conversions ;  and  during  the  existence  of  the  church,  three  hundred 
and  sixty-four  have  been  added  to  its  membership  on  profession  of  their  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ 


THE  SOUTH  CHURCH  ix  NEW  HAVEN,  OKG.  Nov.  8,  1852. 

MINISTER.  SETTLED.  1HSMISSED.  DIED. 

Joseph  V.  Stiles,  D.  D.,  Nov.    1852  Nov.    1857 

G>trdon   W.  X<>u<-*,  Apr.     1854  May,    1858 

Gurdon  W.  Noyes,  May,    1858 

In  1850,  Gerard  Hallock,  Esq.,  residing  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  city, 
felt  that  accommodations  for  religious  worship  were  needed  in  that  vicinity 
— a  Sabbath  School  being  already  in  successful  operation  there.  He,  accor- 
dingly, in  connection  with  one  or  two  land-holders  in  the  neighborhood, 
erected  a  large  and  convenient  church  and  chapel,  which  were  opened  for 
use  in  the  summer  of  1852.  There  was  no  ecclesiastical  society  till  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1858  ;  and  then,  Mr.  Hallock,  being  the  chief  and  almost 
entire  owner  of  the  church  buildings,  gave  them  up  for  the  free  use  of  the 
church,  besides  meeting  most  of  the  expenses,  as  he  had  done  from  the  be- 
ginning. From  this  time  the  other  members  of  the  church  have  felt  a  deep- 
er interest  than  before,  and  raised  more  to  sustain  it,  though  never  more 
than  $700  annually.  The  members  of  the  congregation  are  generally  from 
the  middling  classes  in  society,  and  have  but  small  worldly  means  at  their 
command  ;  many  of  them  being  mechanics  and  operatives  without  families- 
The  house  of  worship  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  any  other  of  the  Con- 
gregational denomination,  and  was  much  needed.  There  are  now  over  two 
hundred  members  of  the  church,  and  there  is  a  growing  congregation, 
which  may  become,  in  time,  pecuniarily  strong. 


The  Wooster  Place  Church  in  New  Haven,  Org.  Dec.  18,   1855. 
Samuel  H.  Cox,  D.  D.  1855 

J.  G.  Hamner,  D.  D.  Nov.    1855  Oct     1856 

Owing  to  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  of  Mr.  Jerome,  at  whose  cost  the 
church  edifice  was  erected,  it  became  necessary  that  the  building  should  be 

57 


442  History  of  the  Churches. 

sold ;  and  the  society  finding  themselves  unable  to  command  the  funds  requi- 
site to  purchase  it — a  contingency  not  thought  of  in  the  commencement  of  the 
enterprise — voted,  Oct.  28,  1856,  that  it  was  expedient  to  discontinue  public 
worship  as  a  separate  congregation,  and  the  church  was  dissolved  Oct.  1857, 
having  had  ninety-five  members. 


THE  GERMAN  MISSION,  NEW  HAVEN. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Christian  Popp,  1851 

J.  E.  JKau,  1855 

C.  F.  Sleidel,  1855 

C.  G.  Bentel,  1860 

This  mission,  with  an  organized  Moravian  church,  has  been  under  the  pat- 
ronage of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society.  The  congregation  appears  to 
promise  well. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEWINGTON,  IN  WETHERSFIELD,  ORG.  OCT.  3,  1822. 
Elisha  Williams,*  Oct.     1722  1726  July,  1755 

Simon  Backus,!  Jan.     1725  1745 

Joshua  Belden,  Nov.    1747  July,   1813 

Joab  Brace,  D.  D.,  Jan.     1805 

Samuel  J.  Andrews,  Mar.     1856  Jan.    1857 

William  P.  Aikin,  Jan.     1857 

Newington  was  a  branch  of  the  Wethersfield  Church.  Mr.  Williams  re- 
signed, to  accept  the  Presidency  of  Yale  College.  Mr.  Backus  went  as  chap- 
lain in  the  army  to  Cape  Breton,  where  he  died, — no  doubt  expecting  to  re- 
turn, as  no  record  is  made  of  his  dismission.  Dr.  Brace  resigned  the  active 
duties  of  the  ministry  at  the  close  of  his  fiftieth  year.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  the  active  pastorates  of  Mr.  Belden  and  Dr.  Brace  covered  a  period  of 
nearly  108  years.  Among  the  revivals,  one  in  1820  was  conducted  by  Dr. 
Nettleton,  with  marked  and  blessed  results.  Memoir,  137.  Eel.  Intel.  6. 
793,  16.  445. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Simon  Backus,  Zadock  Hunt,    Silas    Churchill, 
Martin  K.  Whittlesey,  (h.)  Edward  Joab  Brace,  Seth  C.  Brace. 
*Sp.  An.  1.  281.    Allen.    tSp.  An.  1.  231.    Allen. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  NEW  LONDON,  ORG.  1650. 
Richard  Blinman,  1650  1659 

Gershom  Bulkley,*  1661  1666  Dec.     1713 

Simon  Bradstreet,  1670  1683 

Gurdon  Saltonstall,  Nov.    1691  Aug.    1707 


History  of  the  Churches.  443 

MINISTER.".  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DOCD. 

Eliphalct  Adams, t  July,   1708  Oct     1753 

Mather  Bylcs,|  Nov.    1757  Apr.    1768 

Ephraim  Woodbridge,§  Oct.     1769  Sept   177G 

Henry  Channing,  May,    1787  May,   1806 

Abel  McEwen,  D.  D.  Oct.     1806  Sept  1860 

Thomas  P.  Field,  June,  1856 

The  records  commence  in  1670;  members  admitted  under  the  several  pas- 
torates since— 58, 128,  410,  59,  23,  191  and  723,  the  last  including  four  years 
oi  Mr.  Field  as  colleague  ;  in  all,  1592.  Mr.  Saltonstall  left  the  ministry  for 
civil  life,  and  was  for  several  years  Governor  of  the  State. 

Repeated  revivals  of  religion  have  occurred  ;  in  1807,  over  one  hundred 
were  added  ;  in  other  years,  60,  50  and  40  in  a  year.  Et.  Mag.  9.  339.  In 
1835,  the  congregation  having  become  inconveniently  large,  a  colony  was 
set  off,  now  the  large  Second  Church.'  Prior  to  1806,  this  church  was  under 
the  ministry  of  a  Unitarian  pastor  for  seventeen  years.  But  this  ministry 
produced  no  Unitarianism  in  the  church  or  congregation,  which  survived  his 
dismission.  Nothing  but  the  remarkable  interposition  of  Divine  Providence 
prevented  the  most  disastrous  results.  For  some  time  under  that  ministry, 
religious  meetings,  except  those  on  the  Sabbath,  and  the  preparatory  lec- 
ture, were  very  unpopular.  Evening  services,  especially,  encountered  much 
prejudice.  Now,  and  for  many  years  past,  churches  and  people  of  all  de- 
nominations here,  hold  many  such  meetings.  The  Sabbath  is  much  better 
observed  in  this  place  now  than  it  was  fifty  years  ago,  and  family  prayer  and 
family  religion,  generally,  are  more  prevalent  now  than  in  the  prior  period. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — William  AdamsJ  John  Avery,  Joshua  Hunting- 
ton,*!  Joseph  Hurlbut,  Nathaniel  Hewit,  D.  D.,  Daniel  Huntington,  John 
Ross,  Nathan  Douglass,  Thomas  Huntington,  Thomas  W.  Coit,  D.  D.,  (Ep.) 
Gurdon  S.  Coit,  (Ep.)  William  Harris,  Robert  McEwen,  D.  D.,  Robert  C. 
Learned,  George  Richards,  John  Eliot 

*  Spra^ue's  Annuls,  1.  53.  t  Sp.  An.  1.  182,  238.  }  Sp.  An.  1.  379.  Allen.  §  Al- 
len. |Sp.  AD.  1.  235.  ^[  Allen. 


THE  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  NEW  LONDON,  ORG.  APRIL,  28  1835. 

Joseph  Ilurlluf,  April,  1835  Mar.    1837 

James  Macdonald,  D.  D.,  Dec.      1837  Jan.    1840 

Artemas  Boies.*  Mar.     1841  Sept.   1844 

Tryon  Edwards,  D.  D.,  Mar.     1845  Aug.   1857 

G/B.  Wilcox,  1859 

This  church  originally  consisted  of  nineteen  members  of  the  First  Church 
in  New  London  who,  "  believing  that  the  increase  of  the  city  required,  and 
its  resources  would  justify  an  extension  of  religious  accommodations,  and 


444  History  of  the  Churches. 

that  the  cause  of  truth  and  piety  would  be  promoted  by  the  organization 
of  another  church,  of  their  own  faith  and  order,"  were  most  amicably  dis- 
missed to  unite  in  forming  it. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Hurlbut,  Jr.,  Joshua  Coit. 
Sp.  An.  2.  664. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  MILFOBD,  ORG.  Nov.  2,  1716. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Daniel  Boardman,*  1716  1744 

Nathaniel  Taylor, t  1748  1800 

Stanley  Griswold,J  1790  1802 

Andrew  Eliot,§  1808  1829 

Heman  Rood,  1830  1835 

Noah  Porter,  Jr.,  1836  1842 

John  Greenwood,  1844  1849 

David  Murdoch,  Jr.,  1850 

By  means  of  the  "settlement"  anciently  given  to  ministers  at  their  ordi- 
nation, "  the  two  fathers  of  New  Milford,  were  able  to  give  their  families 
foothold  in  their  native  town  ;  hence  to  the  honor  and  gratification  of  the 
parish,  they  have  remained  there,  distinguished  parts  of  the  aristocracy  of 
that  aristocratic  town."  Mr.  Boardman  lived  strong  in  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  his  parishioners,  and  had  not  a  little  to  do  with  and  for  the  ab- 
origines of  the  country,  a  conspicuous  tribe  of  whom  were  located  in  his 
neighborhood.  Mr.  Taylor  was  something  of  a  farmer,  and  had  also  a  con- 
trolling influence,  through  his  long  ministry,  in  his  large  church  and  con- 
gregation. Mr.  Griswold  gradually  developed  himself  as  a  JQnitarian,  and 
sought  to  break  down  the  distinction  of  the  church  from  the  world.  He 
was  dismissed,  but  brought  disaster  upon  the  church,  and  so  far  misled 
them,  as  to  procure  their  exclusion  from  the  Consociation, — a  severe,  but  ul- 
timately a  beneficial  measure.  It  was  several  years,  under  the  next  pasto- 
rate, before  prosperity,  order  and  orthodoxy  were  restored.  Itel.  Intel.  16. 
285. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — David  SanfordJ  John  Stephens,  Benjamin  Wild- 
man,  Gideon  Bostwick,  David  Bronson,  Whitman  Welch,  Joseph  Treat,  Da- 
vid Baldwin,  Daniel  Marsh,1T  Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  D.  D.,  Charles  A.  Board- 
man, Orlando  Hine,  David  Bostwick.** 

*Sp.  An.  1.  463.  Litcbf.  Centen.  66.  t  Sp.  An.  1.  467.  Allen.  Litcbf.  Centen.  M. 
;  Sp.  An.  1.  468.  Litchf.  Centen.  66.  §  Sp.  An.  2.  421.  |  Mendon  As.  p.  105.  Sp. 
An.  2.  42.  Allen.  1  Sp,  An.  2.  116.  **  Sp.  An.  3.  131. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  NEW  PRESTON,  ix  WASHINGTON,  OKG.  17.">7. 
Noah  Wadhams,  1757  1768 

Jeremiah  Day,*  Jan.     1770  Sept.  1806 


History  of  the  Churches.  445 

MINISTERS.  8ETTLEI>.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Whittlesey.t  Dec.    1807  Apr.    1817 

Charles  A.  Boardman,  June,   1818  Mar.    1830 

Robert  B.  Carapfield,  Nov.    1831  1834 

Columlnis  Shumway,  1834  1835 

Merit  S.  Platt,  1836  1837 

Benjamin  B.  Parsons,  Apr.    1839  Sept.   1842 

Ilollis  Read,  1845  1851 

*<ii/t>tel  F.  Bacon,  1851  1853 

Charles  S.  Smith,  Sept.   1853  Mar.     185.3 

Jacob  H.  Strong,  Dec.    1857 

In  October,  1748,  twenty  persons  obtained  leave  of  the  General  Assembly 
to  hire  a  minister  for  six  months  in  the  year,  on  the  ground  of  their  living 
from  seven  to  ten  miles  from  their  places  of  worship  in  Kent  and  New  Mil- 
ford.  In  May,  1752,  forty-one  individuals  petitioned  the  General  Assembly 
for  a  new  Ecclesiastical  Society.  The  societies  of  East  Greenwich,  (now 
Warren,)  Kent  and  New  Milford,  opposed  the  application,  and  it  failed,  but 
was  granted  in  October.  In  December,  1753,  it  was  voted  to  lay  a  tax  of  12 
pence  on  the  pound  to  hire  a  minister  for  a  season  ;  and  to  build  two  school- 
houses,  by  subscription,  for  the  use  of  the  society.  Nov.  1754,  it  was  voted 
to  build  a  meeting-house,  36  by  26  feet,  with  five  windows,  of  12  lights  each, 
100  rods  west  of  the  present  stone  meeting-house.  Dec.  1766,  it  was  voted  to 
build  another  meeting  house  50  by  40  feet.  This  house  was  enclosed  three 
years  later,  but  was  not  entirely  finished  until  1798.  In  1806,  a  permanent 
fund  of  $5,000  was  raised.  In  1824,  a  third  meeting-house  was  built  of  stone, 
r>4  by  44  feet.  In  1853,  a  majority  of  the  church,  with  a  minority  of  the 
society,  upon  their  own  responsibility,  built  a  fourth  meeting-house  in  the 
village  of  Waramaug,  60  by  30  feet,  at  an  expense  of  about  $6,000,  and  the 
church,  by  a  majority  vote,  on  the  27th  of  Jan.  1854,  voted  to  remove  their 
place -ef  worship  to  this  house.  The  minority  of  the  church,  with  a  major! - 
tv  of  the  society,  maintain  worship  at  the  stone  house. 

There  were  added  to  the  church  by  the  first  minister,  54  ;  second,  123, 
and  300  baptized  ;  third,  142,  167  baptized;  fourth  134,  200  baptized  ;  fifth, 
83,  79  baptized.  The  most  extensive  revival  was  in  1816,  when  eighty  were 
added  to  the  church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D.,  Benjamin  B.  Smith,  Lev! 
Smith,  Joseph  Whittlesey,  Henry  N.  Day,  Horace  Bushnell,  D.  D.,  George 
Tomlinson,  Charles  W.  Camp,  William  Baldwin,  Johnson  L.  Tomlinson, 
George  Bushnell. 

*S}>.  An.  1.  >l-^.     Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  2.  326.    Litchf.  Centen.  118. 


THE  CHL-RCH  ix  NEW  PKESTON  HILL,  (IN  WASHINGTON.) 

A  minority  of  the  old  church  was  left  Jan.  27th,  1854,  at  the  old  house  of 
worship,  but  there  was  no  new  organization. 
Levi  S.  Beele,  Feb.     1854  Feb    1855 

John  A.  HempsteaJ,  !*•">  185G 


446  History  of  the  Churches. 

MIKISTEKS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Noah  Coe,  Feb.     1856  Jan.    1857 

Williams  H.  Whittemore,  1859  1860 

George  Tomlinson,  Mar.     1860 

An  unhappy  division  arose  in  New  Preston  in  1853-4,  on  account  of  a  dis- 
agreement about  the  place  of  worship.  The  majority  of  the  society  and  the 
minority  of  the  church  claim  the  original  organization,  though  the  Consoci- 
ation decided  that  the  majority  of  the  Church,  who  removed,  are  to  be  con- 
sidered the  original  church;  while  the  minority  retain  the  records  and  com- 
munion service,  and  the  society,  with  them,  have  the  funds  for  the  support 
of  the  gospel.  The  old  house  has  since  been  extensively  repaired. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Philander  Hollister. 


THE  CHUKCH  IN  NEWTOWX,  ORG.  OCT.  19,  1715. 

Thomas  Tousey,  Oct.     1715  1724  Mar.    1761 

John  Beach,*  1724  Feb.     1732  Mar.    1782 

Elisha  Kent,  Sept    1732  Feb.    1743  July,  1776 

David  Judson,t  Sept.  1743  Sept.  1776 

Zephaniah  H.  Smith,  Mar.    1786  Feb.    1790  Feb.     1836 

Jehu  Clarke,  Oct.     1799  Aug.    1816  May,   1838 

William  Mitchell,  June,  1825  May,    1831 

Nathaniel  M.  Urmston,  Dec.    1832  Apr.     1838 

Alexander  Leadbetter,  1839  1842 

John  N.  Ambler,  1843  1845  May,   1859 

Jason  Atwater,  1846  1856  Apr.    1860 

William  H.  Moore,  Nov.    1856 

The  tract  embraced  by  this  town  was  called  Pohtatuck,  by  the  Indians, 
and  was  deeded  by  them  to  certain  men  from  Stratford,  in  1705.  The  town 
was  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the  General  Court,  Oct.  11,  1711.  Before 
this  date,  the  people  had  tried  to  secure  a  minister,  but  without  success. 
The  town  voted  Oct.  1,  1712,  to  invite  the  neighboring  ministers  to  come 
and  spend  a  day  with  them  in  advice,  humiliation  and  prayer,  that  they 
might  be  directed  and  encouraged  in  trying  to  maintain  the  worship  of  God 
among  them. 

Mr.  Tousey  began  to  preach  here  in  May,  1713.  In  May,  1715,  the  town 
got  permission  of  the  General  Court  to  have  a  church  gathered,  in  order 
that  Mr.  Tousey  might  be  regularly  settled  among  them.  After  his  dismis- 
sion, he  gave  his  attention  to  secular  affairs,  and  was  a  prominent  and  in- 
fluential man  in  the  town.  Mr.  Beach  became  an  Episcopalian,  went  to 
England  for  ordination,  and  ministered  to  Episcopal  churches  in  Redding 
and  Newtown  forty  years,  and  in  Newtown  alone  till  his  death. 

Mr.  Judson's  salary  varied  from  £50  to  £75  a  year,  and  in  1758,  the  low- 
est sum  was  paid,  in  part  at  the  following  prices :  wheat  3s.  6d.,  rye  2s.  4d. 
and  corn  Is.  9d.  per  bushel,  flax  5d.  a  pound,  and  work  Is.  and  9d.  per  day. 


History  of  the  Churches.  447 

During  his  ministry  there  were  226  marriages,  (from  1756  to  1770,)  378 
deaths,  887  baptisms,  a  yearly  average  of  27  ;  half-way  covenant  dismissions, 
90 ;  about  300  added  to  the  church. 

Mr.  Smith  adopted  some  of  the  errors  of  Sandemanianism,  and  by  his  in- 
discretion and  discipline,  involved  the  church  in  trouble,  from  the  disastrous 
effects  of  which,  it  became  so  reduced,  as  to  be  organized  anew  in  1799, 
having  but  nine  male  members. 

Under  Mr.  Atwater,  69  were  added,  the  meeting-house  repaired,  a  confer- 
ence room  provided,  and  the  society  brought  into  a  more  hopeful  condition 
than  for  seventy -five  years  before.  Without  aid  from  the  Home  Missionary 
Society,  from  1825,  it  would  have  become  extinct 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Isaac  Beach. 

*  Allen.    +  Allen. 


THE  CHCRCB  IN  NORFOLK,  ORG.  DKC.  24,  1760. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIEP. 

Ammi  Ruha.mah  Bobbins,*     Oct.     1761  Oct     1813 

Ralph  Emerson,  D.  D.,  June,   1815  Nov.    1829 

Joseph  Eldridge,  D.  D.,  Apr.     1832 

Mr.  Emerson  was  dismissed  to  accept  the  professorship  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  in  Andover  Seminary.  The  town  was  incorporated  in  1758.  The 
church  has  never  had  a  "  stated  supply,"  except  a  few  weeks  at  a  time. 
The  church  and  people  have  never  had  any  serious  trouble  among  them,  or 
with  their  ministers.  A  serious  quarrel  in  the  choir  has  never  occurred  ;  it 
has  generally  been  harmonious  in  every  sense.  Interesting  and  refreshing 
revivals  of  religion  have  been  granted  to  the  church,  at  intervals,  through 
the  whole  century  of  its  existence.  /:>.  M<«j.  1,  21 1,  338.  For  a  long  time, 
it  has  been  subject  to  a  heavy  drain  from  emigration,  particularly  to  the 
West.  During  the  ministry  of  the  present  pastor,  all  the  other  churches  of 
the  Consociation  have  had  at  least  two  pastors,  and  most  of  them  three  and 
four,  or  more. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Thomas  Robbing,  D.  o.,t  Asahel  Gaylord,  Nathan 
Turner,  Francis  L.  Robbins,t  Isaac  Knapp,{  Eleazar  Holt,  Joseph  L.  Mills, 
Sheridan  Guiteau,  James  W.  Robbins,  Reuben  Gaylord. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  369.    Allen.    Litchf.  (.V-uu-it.  '.«>.     t  Allen.    I  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  BRASFORD,  ORO.  MAT  18,  1724. 

Jonathan  Merrick,*  1726                                           June,  1772 

Samuel  Eells,t  1769                                           Apr.    1808 

Charles  Atwater,  1809                                           Feb.    1825 

Judson  A.  Root,  1828                        1834                       1855 

Henry  B.  Camp,  1835                        1836 

John  D.  Baldwin,  1838                        1844 


448  History  of   the  Churches. 

MINISTER*.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

George  I.  Wood,  Dec.     1844  June,  1850 

Whitman  Peel;  Mar.     1851  July,  1855 

George  I.  Wood,  Oct.     1855  Nov.    1858 

William  B.  Curtis,  Dec.     1859 

This  church  was  a  colony  from  the  church  in  Branford.  Its  first  house  of 
worship  was  erected  in  1724,  at  the  expense  of  the  town  of  Branford.  At 
the  institution  of  the  church,  the  funds  owned  by  the  society  in  Branford, 
were  equitably  divided  between  the  two  societies.  The  settlement  of  this 
part  of  Branford  commenced  about  1680 ;  and  in  1701,  they  were  numerous 
enough  to  have  occasional  preaching  among  themselves.  The  town  at  first 
voted  to  support  both  ministers  ;  but  six  months  after  revoked  this  action, 
and  the  North  Branford  society  was  then  organized.  Mr.  Merrick  was  a 
man  of  decision  and  energy,  beloved  and  respected  among  his  people.  Mr. 
Eells  had  £200  settlement,  besides  materials  for  building  a  house  and  barn. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  versatility  and  sympathy,  and  practiced  to  some  ex- 
tent as  a  physician.  He  also  became  the  captain  -of  a  company  of  60  men 
from  his  parish,  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  though  fortunately  there  was  no 
occasion  for  their  services.  The  half-way  covenant  prevailed  here,  a  source 
of  trouble  in  the  church.  See  Mr.  Wood's  Historical  Discourse,  1850. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — David  Rose,  Roger  Harrison,  Fosdick  Harrison, 
Levi  Rose,  Alonzo  Loper. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  631.    Allen,     t  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  CANAAN,  ORO.  DEC.  5,  1769. 

AsahelHart,  Mar.     1770  Mar.    1775 

Amos  Thompson,  June,    1782  1788 

Joshua  Knapp,  1791  1795 

Solomon  Morgan,*  April,   1798  Sept.   1804 

Pitkin  Cowles,t  Aug.     1805  Jan.     1833  Feb.    1833 

Henry  H.  Woodbridge,          Oct.      1833  Oct.     1842 

Daniel  D.  Francis,  May,     1844  Mar.     1850 

Elisha  Whittlesey,  June,    1851  Sept.    185-3 

Hiram  Eddy,          1854,  inst.  June,  1856  1860 

This  church  was  originally  formed  upon  the  application  of  eleven  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Church,  who  were  dismissed  and  recommended  to  organize 
themselves  into  a  church  in  the  second  Ecclesiastical  Society  in  Canaan.  It 
is  now,  since  the  division  of  the  town,  the  Congregational  Church  of  North 
Canaan. 

Mr.  Knapp  had  been  seventeen  years  pastor  in  Winsted.  Mr.  Cowles 
studied  with  Dr.  Charles  Backus,  of  Somers.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of 
evangelical  truth  and  practical  religion,  an  affectionate  pastor,  an  instructive 
and  impressive  preacher.  His  ministry  was  blessed  with  several  revivals  ; 
in  one  of  them  100  were  added  to  the  church.  See  Litchf.  Centen.  1852. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP  — Grove  L.  Brownell,  Zalmon  Tobey,  Linus  Fellows, 
Timothy  Benedict,  Aaron  Peale,  Calvin  Peale. 

*Alk;n,    Sp.  An.  2.  526.    t  Litchf.  Centen.  116. 


History  of  the  Churches.  449 

THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  CORNWALL,  ORO.  1782. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED  DISMISS  1>.  DIED. 

John  Cornwall, 

Israel  Holley,  1795  1801 

Josiah  Hawes,  March,  1805  July,     1813 

Grove  L.  Brownell,  1817  1818 

Walter  Smith,  June,     1819  April,    1838 

8.  J.  Tracy,  1838  1839 

Joshua  L.  Maynard,  Jan.       1841  May,     1852 

W.  B.  Clarke,  May,     1855  May,     1859 

Charles  Wetherby,  Sept.     1859 

Formed  from  the  First  Church  (South  Cornwall,)  by  secession.  Has  been 
very  greatly  blessed  with  revivals  from  its  beginning  until  the  present  time, 
and  is  now  in  a  prosperous  condition.  This  Church  was  for  several  years,  in 
the  early  part  of  its  existence,  under  the  care  of  the  Morristown  Presbytery, 
in  New  Jersey  ;  but  was  received  into  the  Litchfield  North  Consociation  in 
1809. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  C.  Hart,  Henry  Wadsworth,  Almon  B. 
Pratt,  Henry  G.  Pendleton,  Abram  Baldwin. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  COVENTRY,  ORG.  OCT.  8,  1745. 

Nathan  Strong,*  Oct.    1745  Nov.      1795 

Ichabod  Lord  Skinner,!  Oct.    1794  Oct.       1798  1852 

Ephraim  T.  Woodruff,  Apr.   1801  Oct.       1817 

George  A.  Calhoun,  D.  D.,         Mar.  1819 

Previous  to  1736  the  inhabitants  of  North  Coventry  were  embraced  in  the 
Congregational  Church  and  Society  of  South  Coventry.  During  three  win- 
ters after  that  date,  the  town  assisted  the  inhabitants  of  this  section  of  it  in 
supporting  public  worship  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Noah  Russ ;  and  the  Society 
was  incorporated  in  1740.  In  May,  1742,  the  Legislature  of  this  State  enact- 
ed a  law  prohibiting  ministers  from  preaching  and  exhorting  out  of  their  re- 
spective parishes,  unless  they  were  invited  by  the  minister,  if  there  was  no 
minister,  by  the  Church,  and  if  there  was  no  Church,  by  the  Society. 

This  Society  voted,  June  21,  1742,  that  any  of  24  ministers  named,  might 
preach  or  exhort  at  any  time  in  this  Society  upon  invitation.  "  Then  voted, 
that  any  Church  member,  or  any  head  of  a  family  may  invite  any  of  the 
above  ministers  to  preach  in  said  Society." 

The  building  of  the  first  meeting  house  occasioned  much  trouble.  In  re- 
gard to  it  the  Legislature  was  repeatedly  memorialized.  The  parish  was 
once  and  again  surveyed  to  find  the  center ;  and  finally  a  Legislative  com- 
mittee was  employed  to  determine  the  site.  After  years  of  agitation,  the 
second  house  was  built  in  1792,  the  third  in  1847. 

The  Society  agreed  to  give  Mr.  Strong  for  his  support  £600  old  tenor 
bills  as  a  settlement,  and  £200  (increasing  to  £270,)  old  tenor  bills  as  an 

58 


450  History  of  the  Churches. 

annual  salary,  to  vary  nominally  according  to  the  change  in  the  value  of 
produce.  This  arrangement  for  the  support  of  the  minister  occasioned 
trouble  in  after  years. 

For  a  number  of  years  previous  to  1828  the  ability  of  this  Society  to  sup- 
port the  gospel,  gradually  decreased,  by  emigration ;  when  a  parochial  fund 
of  $5,000  was  raised  to  supply  the  deficiency. 

This  place  has  been  repeatedly  blessed  with  special  effusions  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  There  was  a  revival  of  religion  in  1742,  while  there  were  two 
societies  in  the  town,  also  in  1765,  1781,  1800  and  in  the  years  of  general 
revival  in  the  present  century.  Added  in  1819,  65;  1822-3,  70.  Ev.  Mag. 
9,  379.  Eel  Intel.  5,  173. 

During  the  last  50  years  the  Church  has  received  501  members,  and  has 
dismissed  on  recommendation  to  other  Churches  147  more  than  it  has  re- 
ceived from  them. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Nathan  Strong,  D.  D.,  Joseph  Strong,  r».  r>.,  Thomas 
Page,  (h.)  Ebenezer  Kingsbury,  (h.)  Gershom  E.  Lyman,  Horatio  Waldo,  Ja- 
cob Allen,  Clement  Parker,  Hervey  Talcott,  Eber  Carpenter,  Addison  Kings- 
bury,  D.  D.,  Marvin  Root,  Nathan  S.  Hunt,  Milton  Badger,  D.  D.,  R.  R.  Gur- 
ley,  D.  D.,  John  A.  Woodruff,  Diodatius  Babcock. 

*  Sp.  An.  1, 28.  2, 34.  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  2,  37. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTHFORD,  is  NORTH  BRANFORD,  ORG.  JCNE  13,  1750. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Warham  Williams,*  June,   1750  April,    1788 

Matthew  Noyes,t  Aug.    1790  Sept.     1839 

William  J.  Boardman,  Dec.     1835  Oct.       1849 

Henry  S.  Clark,  D.  D.,  April,  1847  June,     1849 

R  W.  Root,  July,    1849  July,     1850 

Charles  H.  Bullard,  Oct.      1850  Oct.       1851 

Asa  C.  Pierce,  June,   1853 

Meetings  for  public  worship  were  held  as  early  as  1746,  when  measures 
were  adopted  for  building  a  meeting  house  ;  and  soon  after  a  committee  was 
appointed  "  to  apply  to  the  Rev.  Association's  Committee  for  advice  in  re- 
spect to  a  candidate  for  a  preacher." 

Mr.  Williams  was  descended  from  Revs.  Robert  Williams  of  Roxbury, 
Mass.,  who  came  from  England,  John  Williams  of  Deerfield,  and  Stephen 
Williams,  D.  D.,  of  Long  Meadow,  where  he  was  born.  He  admitted  to  the 
Church  256.  Mr.  Noyes,  born  in  Lyme,  also  of  Puritan  ancestry,  was  a 
descendant  of  James  Noyes,  who  came  from  Wiltshire,  England.  He  stud- 
ied Theology  with  Dr.  Whitney,  of  Brooklyn;  admitted  to  the  Church  201. 
He  was  *' distinguished  as  the  richest  minister  in  Conn."  Mr.  Boardman, 
from  North  Haven,  born  in  Dal  ton,  Mass.,  resigned  his  charge  some  years 
before  his  death,  through  ill  health,  but  not  dismissed.  The  Church  was  in 
a  divided  and  troubled  state  for  years  after.  Revivals  in  1856  and  1858. 


History  of  the  Churches.  45 1 

MINISTERS   RAISED   UP. —Oliver  D.  Cook,  Medad  Rogers,  Lemuel  Tyler, 
Jonathan  Maltby,  Isaac  Maltby,  L.  Ives  Hoadley,   John   Maltby,   Erastus 
Maltby,  Samuel  Whitney,  (f.)  Eli  Smith,  D.  o.,J  (f.)  Benjamin  S.  J.  Page. 
*  Sp.  An.  1.   287.    Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1,  513.     Allen.    JCong.  Y.  Book,  5, 116. 


TOE  CHURCH  IN  NORTHFIELD,  IN  LITCHFIELD,  ORO.  JAN.  1,  1795. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Joseph  E.  Camp,*  Feb.    1795  1837          May,   1838 

J.  S.  Dickinson,  Feb.    1844  June,    1851 

Lewis  Jessup,  NOT.   1851  Nov.     1864 

Noah  Coe,  Nov.    1854  Feb.      1856 

Stephen  Rogers,  Nov.   1856  Feb.      1859 

James  Richards,  D.  D-,  Feb.    1859  Aug.     1860 

The  Church  and  Society  had  a  fund  which  a  few  years  since  was  invested 
in  a  parsonage,  all  but  $500.  Have  since  received  $10,000,  a  legacy  from 
Asa  Hopkins. 

Mr.  Richards  is  not  in  good  standing,  having  been  deposed  from  the  min- 
istry, several  years  since,  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Orleans.  The  Church 
since  engaging  his  services,  with  the  disapprobation  of  the  Consociation, 
have  voted  to  dissolve  their  connection  with  that  body. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Wyllys  Warner,  Isaac  Warner,  William  H. 
Guernsey,  Albert  B.  Camp,  Lewis  Smith,  (Meth.) 

*Sp.   An.  2.  592. 


The  "  Enrolled  Church,"  in  Northford,  Org.  1801. 

Hunthi'jton, 

Claudius  Herrick, 
Eliphalet  B.  Coleman, 
Jeremiah  Atwater,  D.  D. 

A  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1805.  This  Church  was  a  secession 
from  Mr.  Noyes's  Church,  on  account  of  an  unhappy  division  of  feeling 
which  prevailed  at  that  time.  Its  existence  continued  till  1833,  when  by 
advice  and  assistance  of  the  Association,  a  reunion  was  effected. 

The  names  of  Revs.  Messrs.  Huntingdon,  Claudius  Herrick,  EliphaletB.  Cole- 
man,  and  Jeremiah  Atwater,  D.  D.,  are  given  as  having  supplied  their  pulpit, 
but  no  dates  have  been  furnished;  the  first  is  said  to  have  aided  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Church,  and  the  second  in  erecting  its  house  of  worship. 


The  Church  in  North  Goshen,  Org.  1828. 
George  Carrington,*  Aug.    1829  Sept     1833 

Guy  C.  Sampson,  Jan.    1836  May,     1837 


452  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

0.  J.   Tracy,  1837?  1839? 

Cheater  Colton,  1839?  1845? 

Frederick  Marsh,  May,    1846  Nov.      1847 

During  Mr.  Tracy's  labors,  there  was  some  revival  and  several  additions 
to  the  Church.  The  death  of  the  leading  man  in  the  Society,  and  the  remo- 
val of  the  only  deacon  depended  on  for  conducting  religious  meetings,  to 
Michigan,  so  weakened  the  Society  as  to  prevent  further  attempts  to  sustain 
preaching.  By  vote  of  the  Church,  the  communion  service  was  given  to 
the  Congregational  Church  in  Chelsea,  Mich. 

*  Litokf.  Ceuten.  117 


THE  CH-UKCH  IN  NORTH  GREENWICH,  ORG.  DEC.  25,  1827. 
Chauncey  Wilcox,  June,     1828  May,     1846        Jan.      1852 

Frederick  Munson,  Sept.     1847  April,    1856 

John  Blood,  Nov.     1856  Oct.      1858 

William  H.  Knouse,  May,     1859 

A  considerable  part  of  the  region  from  which  this  Church  is  npw  gath- 
ered, was  formerly  included  in  the  parish  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church  in  Greenwich.  Another  portion  was  united  with  the  Society  of 
Stanwich  ;  and  a  district  in  which  several  families  now  connected  with  the 
Church  and  congregation  reside,  belonged  as  at  present  to  the  State  of  New 
York.  Some  of  those  who  desired  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  sanctuary, 
regularly  traveled  the  distance  of  eight  miles  for  this  purpose.  A  Church 
edifice  was  erected  in  the  summer  of  1827,  and  dedicated  the  same  day  that 
the  Church  was  organized. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  GUILFORD,  ORG.  JUNE  16, 1725. 

Samuel  Russell,*  June,    1725  Jan.       1746 

John  Richards, t  Nov.     1748  1765 

Thomas  W.  Bray,t  Dec.     1766  April,    1808 

William  F.  Vaill,  Dec.     1808  April,    1820 

Zolva  Whitmore,§  Sept.   1821  Aug.      1846 

John  L.  Ambler,  Jan.     1848  Jan.      1849 

Henry  Eddy,  Jan.     1849  March,  1851 

Fosdick  Harrison,  Nov.    1851  Nov.      1854 

Abraham  C.  Baldwin,  Nov.    1854  Oct.       1855 

Thomas  Dutton,  Dec.     1855  May,     1859 

Richard  Crittenden,  Aug.    1860 

North  Guilford  was  made  a  distinct  parish,  May,  1720.  The  first  inhabi- 
tants were  people  of  property,  and  of  strong  religious  principles  and  purpo- 
ses. It  indicates  the  elevation  of  their  views  and  aims  respecting  education, 


History  of  the  Churches.  453 

that  there  were  graduated  at  Yale  College,  from  this  small  community,  with- 
in fifty  years  after  its  separation  from  Guilford,  five,  who  became  eminently 
useful  members  of  the  learned  professions,  viz :  Revs.  Nathaniel  Bartlett  of 
Redding,  Amos  Fowler  of  Guilford,  and  Daniel  Collins  of  Lanesboro,  Mass., 
(all  these,  after  long  pastorates,  died  in  old  age  among  the  people  of  their 
charge,)  Thomas  Russell,  a  physician,  in  Sheffield,  Mass.,  and  Piermont,  N. 
H.,  and  Abraham  Baldwin,  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  from  Geor- 
gia, one  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  Sena- 
tor in  Congress  from  1799  to  1807. 

After  the  death  of  the  first  minister  in  1746,  a  division  arose  on  the  ques- 
tion of  settling  Mr.  Chauncey,  a  son  of  Rev.  Mr.  Chauncey  of  Durham. 
A  majority  feared  tfiat  he  was  not  sound  in  the  faith  ;  and  therefore  voted 
against  him,  whereupon,  a  minority,  who  were  strongly  in  favor  of  him,  se- 
ceded and  formed  an  Episcopal  Church,  with  which  about  one-third  of  the 
102  families  of  the  parish  are  connected.  Since  that  time,  there  have  been 
t\vo  occasions,  when  three  or  four  families  at  once,  have  left  the  Congrega- 
tional for  the  Episcopal  Society.  One  was  when  Mr.  Bray  refused  to  bap- 
tize on  the  "halfway  covenant"  plan  ;  the  other  when  Mr.  Vail  preached 
zealously  on  the  doctrines  of  Divine  Sovereignty  and  Election. 

An  increase  from  20  to  70  in  33  years,  and  in  so  small  a  community, 
shows  a  good  measure  of  religious  prosperity.  This  number  was  increased 
during  the  42  years  of  the  third  pastorate,  by  the  addition  of  152.  There 
were  almost  every  year  additions  to  the  Church  from  1  to  6  or  7.  There 
were  at  almost  all  times,  individuals  in  the  congregation,  who  were  under 
solemn  religious  impressions. 

About  the  time  of  Mr.  Bray's  death,  began  the  first  revivals  of  religion. 
Even  in  the  days  of  Whitefield,  Edwards,  and  Bellamy,  there  was  no  un- 
usual religious  interest  here.  This  work  continued  with  increased  power 
after  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Vaill.  Then  began,  also,  the  era  of  social  prayer 
meetings,  and  benevolent  contributions.  And  thenceforward  the  Church 
has  been  blest  with  pentacostal  visits  of  the  Divine  Spirit ;  almost  all  who 
have  been  added  to  it  since  Mr.  Bray's  day,  having  been  converted  in  sea- 
sons of  revival. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Nathaniel  Bartlett,  Amos  Fowler,  Daniel  Collins, 
Aaron  C.  Collins,  Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.,  Augustus  B.  Collins,  Jared  Tyler, 
Abraham  C.  Baldwin,  John  E.  Bitty,  Stephen  A.  Loper. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  261.  Allen,  t  Allen.  JSee  account  of  Thomas  B.  Wells  in  Allen. 
i  Mention  As.  300. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  HAVEN,  ORG..  1718. 

MINISTERS.                           SET5LED.                    DISMISSED.  DIED. 

James  Wetmore,                    Sept.    1718            Sept.     1722  1760 

Isaac  Stiles,*                           Nov.     1724  May,     1760 

Benjamin  Trumbull,  D.  D.,t     Dec.      1760  Feb.      1820 

William  J.  Boardman,            Sept.    1820            Oct.       1833  Oct.       1849 


454  History  of  the  Churches, 

M1JUSTEBS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED, 

Leverett  Griggs,  Oct.      1833  July,     1845 

Ira  H.  Smith,  Feb.     1846  March,  1848 

Theron  G.  Colton,  Sept.     1849  Aug.     1851 

Silas  W.  Bobbins,  June,    1853  Oct.       1856 

Benjamin  S.  J.  Page,  Oct.      1856 

Mr.  Wetmore,  says  Dr.  Trumbull,  "  was  one  of  the  first  ministers  who 
declared  for  Episcopacy  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut."  At  that  time,  there 
was  but  one  Episcopal  Church  in  the  whole  colony,  and  but  few  of  that  per- 
suasion. Mr.  Cutler,  the  Rector  of  the  College  in  New  Haven,  and  Mr. 
Johnson,  of  West  Haven,  declared  for  Bpiscopacy  at  the  same  time,  and  may 
be  considered  the  fathers  of  the  Episcopalians  in  Connecticut.  Dr.  Trum-" 
bull  was  the  author  of  a  celebrated  "  History  of  Connecticut,"  and  of  other 
valuable  religious  works. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Todd,  Ezra  Stiles,  D.  D.| 
*  Sp.  An.  1,  470.    Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1,  584.    Allen.    \  Am.  Qu.  Keg.  8, 193. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  MADISON,  (FORMERLY  NORTH  BRISTOL,)  ORG.  1757. 
John  Rundle,  1753  Dec. 

Richard  Ely,*  June,  1757  1785         Aug.      1814 

Simon  Backus,  Oct.      1790  April,    1801  1823 

John  Ely,  Oct.     1812  Nov.      1827 

David  Metcalf,  May,    1829 

Jared  Andrus,  June,  1832  Nov.     1832 

Stephen  Hayes,  June,  1833 

Amos  LeFavor,  Dec.     1838 

Judson  A.  Root,  April,  1841  April,    1842        Sept.     1855 

Lent  8.  Hough,  April,  1842 

Martin  Dudley,  April,  1845 

William  Case,  April,  1846  April,    1847  1857 

James  T.  Terry,  April,  1847 

Beuben  Torrey,  April,  1848 

Phineas  BlaTceman,  Jan.     1853 

Samuel  Howe,  Aug.    1858 

A  committee  from  the  Church  in  North  Bristol  met  Consociation  a1>Guilford, 
when  convened  for  the  ordination  of  Rev.  Amos  Fowler,  and  presented  the 
act  of  Assembly,  making  them  a  legal  ecclesiastical  society,  and  a  certificate 
of  the  regular  formation  of  the  Church,  requesting  them  to  ordain  their  pas- 
tor. Rev.  R.  Ely  was  accordingly  ordained  at  Guilford.  The  name  of  the 
Church  and  Society  was  changed  from  North  Bristol  to  North  Madison  about 
1830,  soon  after  Madison  became  a  town.  Mr.  Le  Favor,  the  last  pastor, 
was  found  guilty  of  scandalous  and  immoral  conduct  at  New  Berlin,  N. 
Y.,  and  upon  the  representations  of  the  Chenango  Presbytery,  was  deposed 


History  of  the  Churches.  455 

by  the  Consociation,  July  28,  1842.  The  Church  has  experienced  several 
revivals ;  is  poor  in  the  things  of  this  world,  and  has  recently  been  weaken- 
ed by  the  spirit  of  proselytism.  Dr.  Nettleton's  Memoir,  135. 

*Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  MANSFIELD,  ORG.  OCT.  11,  1744. 

MINISTERS.  -SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  Throop,  Oct.     1744  Jan.      1746 

Daniel  Welch,*  Jan.     1752  April,    1782 

Moses  C.  Welch,  D.  D.,t          June,  1784  April,    1824 

William  Ely,  t  Aug.    1825  May,     1841        Nov.      1850 

Reuben  Torrey,  June,  1841  April,    1843 

A.  R.  Livermore,  Aug.     1843  Nov.      1858 

Edward  F.  Brooks,  Feb.     1860 

The  Society  was  incorporated  in  1737.  The  second  house  of  worship  was 
built  in  1793,  would  seat  700,  and  was  generally  filled.  The  third,  built  in 
1848.  The  Church  has  been  weakened  by  division,  (as  is  true  of  many 
churches,)  by  the  coming  in  of  other  denominations,  by  the  great  political  ex- 
citement at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  by  other  causes  since  ; 
and  so  must  they  continue  till  such  time  as  they  again  go  up  each  Sabbath 
to  one  house  of  worship,  one  people.  The  first  pastor  was  resettled  in 
Southold,  L.  I.,  where  he  was  highly  successful.  The  second  was  taken  ill 
in  the  pulpit  and  died  the  same  night;  a  good  man,  a  good  preacher,  respect- 
ed, beloved  and  lamented.  The  third,  son  of  the  second,  "was  an  able  de- 
fender of  the  faith ;  in  prayer  devout ;  in  preaching  plain  and  pungent." 
The  fourth  "  was  a  sound,  faithful,  discreet  pastor,  and  appeared  to  have  a 
hand,  a  head  and  a  heart  ready  to  every  good  work."  There  was  a  great 
awakening  in  1822-3.  Other  seasons  of  special  interest  in  1798,  1810,  '32, 
'41,  '49,  and  '58.  The  humbling  doctrines  of  the  cross  have  been  plainly 
preached  with  happy  effect. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Abner  Goodell,  S.  W.  Hanks,  Marcus  Cross,  Sam- 
uel R.  Dimock,  Edwin  Dimock. 

*Sp.  An.  2,  234.     f  Sp.  Ail.  2.  234.    Allen.    J  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  STAMFORD,  ORO.  JUNE  4,  1782. 

Samuel  Hopkins,  D.  D.,*  1782  1784        Dec.      1803 

Solomon  Wolcot,  March,  1784  June,  1785 

John  Shepherd,  June,     1787  June,  1794 

AmziLewis.t  June,     1795  April,    1819 

Henry  Fuller,  June,    1812  Jan.  1844 

Nathaniel  Pierson,  April,    1844  Jan.  1846 

William  11.  Magie,  Jan.        1846  Jan.  1849 


456  History  of  the  Churches, 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  E.  Catlin,  March,  1849  March,  1850 

F.  E.  M.  Bacheler,  July,      1851?          Jan.      1852? 

Livingston  Willard,  March,  1852  June,     1856 

John  White,  May,      1857  Oct.       1858 

W.  Simpson  Clarke,  April,     1859 

This  Church  has  been  blessed  with  many  precious  revivals  ;  but  has  suf- 
fered much  for  want  of  a  more  permanent  ministry.     Eel.  Intel.  16,  76,  10''>. 

*Sp.  An.  1,  428.    t  Sp.  An.  4.  155. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NORTH  STOXINGTON,  ORG.  FEB.  22,  1727. 
William  Worthington,  1720?  1722 

Thomas  Craghead,  1722?  1724 

Jabez  Wight,  1724?  1726 

Ebenezer  Russell,  Feb.     1727  May,      1731 

Joseph  Fish,*  Dec.     1732  May,      1781 

Barnabas  Lathrop,  May,    1783  Feb.      1785 

Joseph  Ayer,  June,  1825  March,  1837 

Peter  H.Shaw,  May,    1837  Feb.       1839 

Philo  Judson,  April,  1841  April,    1845 

Myron  N.  Morris,  April,  1846  June,     1852 

Stephen  Hubbell,  Aug.    1853 

The  North  Society  in  Stonington  was  incorporated  in  1720,  seven  years 
before  the  organization  of  the  Church,  and  81  before  the  act  incorporating 
the  present  town  of  North  Stonington. 

The  earlier  .years  of  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Fish  were  marked  by  great  suc- 
cess, but  soon  after  that  great  religious  movement  in  connection  with  the 
labors  of  Davenport,  alienations  and  strifes  began  to  spring  up  in  the  Church. 
About  two-thirds  of  the  members  seceded,  some  to  unite  with  the  Baptists, 
and  some  to  organize  themselves  into  a  new  body  under  the  name  of  "Sep- 
arates," or  "  Strict  Congregationalists." 

At  the  death  of  Mr.  Fish,  a  long  period  commenced,  during  which  the 
Church  was  without  a  settled  minister  and  was  at  times  nearly  extinct.  In 
August,  1791,  the  Church  was  reorganized  with  eighteen  members,  and  a 
fresh  effort  made  to  secure  a  pastor.  The  attempt  however  failed,  and  a 
succession  of  persons,  none  of  them  remaining  more  than  four  months,  sup- 
plied all  the  pulpit  instruction  which  was  given  for  the  next  thirty  years. 

The  Separates  kept  up  their  organization  about  70  years.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time,  the  old  Society  and  the  Separates  so  far  united  as  to  build 
a  house  of  worship,  to  be  occupied  alternately,  with  certain  limitations. 

In  1824,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Ayer  was  employed  by  both  Churches  to  supply 
their  alternate  worship,  and  at  last  the  two  Churches  were  formally  and 
happily  reunited  on  the  15th  of  March,  1827. 


History  of  the  Churches.  457 

A  fund,  early  commenced,  helped  to  prolong  the  existence  of  the  Church 
during  its  trials.     See  Mr.  Morrida  Ilixtorical  Discourse,  1848, 
MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Ayer,  Isaac  P.  Langworthy. 
*  So.  An.  1.  359.     Allen. 


The  North  Windsor  Church,  Org.  Sept.  2,  1761. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Theodore  Ilinsdale,  April,  1766  1795 

In  1757  a  contention  arose  about  the  location  of  a  new  meeting  house.     It 
was  built  on  the  South  side  of  the  (Farmington)  river.     This  change  led  to 
the  organization  of  the  North  Windsor  Church,  by  Consociation.     In  1795 
it  was  disbanded,  and  the  members  returned  to  the  first  Church. 
MISISTEK  RAISED  UP. — Nathaniel  Gaylord. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  NORTH  WOODSTOCK,  ORO.  1756. 
Foster  Thayer,  July,  1831  Oct.     183G 

Lent  S.  Hough,  Jan.     1837  May,    1841 

Wtll'Til  Child,  D.  D.,  1841  1842 

D.  C.  Fro**,  1843  1844 

William  II.  Marsh,  Nov.     1844  Apr.    1851 

0.  D.  Hine,  Jan.     1852  Oct.     1855 

D.  M.  Elwood,  Apr.    1837  May,   1859 

John  White,  1859 

This  church  claims  to  be  the  original  North  Woodstock  church,  organized 
in  what  is  now  East  Woodstock,  in  1756.  A  division  having  arisen  as  to 
the  site  of  a  new  meeting-house,  a  church  edifice  was  erected  at  "  Village 
Corners,"  in  1830,  and  on  "  Feb.  25,  1831,  votes  were  passed  by  a  majority 
of  said  church  removing  their  place  of  worship  from  the  old  meeting-house 
to  the  new,"  "  and  providing  for  the  administration  of  the  ordinances  at  the 
latter  place."  The  church,  or  that  portion  of  it  remaining  at  East  Wood- 
stock, also  built  a  new  meeting-house,  and  continued  without  a  new  church 
organization.  The  church  at  North  Woodstock  carried  with  it  (after  litiga- 
tion) the  funds  of  the  original  church,  amounting  to  some  three  or  four 
thousand  dollars.  These  funds  it  still  retains — a  portion  having  been  ex- 
pended in  the  purchase  of  a  parsonage.  Rel.  Intel.  16.  415. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Chandler,  (h  )  John  E.  Chandler,  (f.)  Au- 
gustus Chandler. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  NORWALK,  ORG.  1652. 

Thomas  Hanford,*  1652,  ord.  1654  1693 

Stephen  Buckingham,*  Nov.     1697  Feb.     1726  Feb.    1745 


458  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Moses  Dickinson,]:  1727  May,  1778 

William  Tennent,J  1765  1772 

Matthias  Burnet,  D.  D.,§         Nov.     1785  June,  1806 

Roswell  R.  Swan,  \  Jan.     1807  Mar,    1819 

Sylvester  Eaton,1T  Oct.     1820  Feb.     1827 

Henry  Benedict,  Aug.    1828  Feb.     1832 

Edwin  Hall.  D.  D.,  June,  1832  1855 

William  B.  Weed,  June,  1855 

A  settlement  was  commenced  in  the  town  of  Norwalk  in  1C50,  and  public 
worship  was  undoubtedly  established  at  that  time.  Without  certain  in- 
formation, it  is  believed  that  the  first  Congregational  church  was  organized 
in  1652 — the  year  in  which  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hanford,  the  first  minister, 
commenced  his  labors.  Until  the  year  1726.  the  parish  and  the  town  were 
identical.  In  that  year,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly, 
the  Congregational  society  was  organized.  The  churches  of  Wilton,  Ridge 
field,  New  Canaan,  Norfield,  Weston,  Darien,  ATestport  and  South  Nor- 
walk,  are  in  whole,  or  in  part,  colonies  from  this  church. 

This  church  has  enjoyed  the  labors  of  ten  pastors,  men  devoted  to  their 
work,  sound  in  the  faith,  and  some  of  them  distinguished  in  their  profession. 
Many  "  times  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord"  have  blessed  this 
church,  and  crowned  the  labors  of  her  faithful  ministers. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Lockwood,  D.  D.,  William  Ilanford,  Ste- 
phen Saunders,  James  Lockwood,  Nathaniel  Bouton,  D.  D.,  Henry  Benedict, 
Ebenezer  Kellogg,  Charles  G.  Selleck,  S.  B.  S.  Bissell,  Melancthon  Hoyt, 
Benjamin  Lockwood,  Charles  A.  Downs,  Augustus  F.  Beard,  Edwin  Hall,  Jr. 

*  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  1. 261.  %  Sp.  An.  1.  311.  3.  242.  Allen.  §  Sp.  An.  2.  92.  J  Sp. 
An.  2.  485.  Allen.  T  Sp.  An.  4.  405. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  NORWICH,  (IN  "NORWICH  TOWN,")  ORG.  1660. 
James  Fitch,*  1660  Nov.    170'J 

Jabez  Fitch,  (c.)  1694  1695 

Henry  Flint  (c.) 
Joseph  Coit,  (c.) 

John  Woodward,*  Dec.     1699  Sept.    1716  1746 

Benjamin  Lord,*  Nov.     1717  Mar.    1784 

Joseph  Strong,  D.  D.,t  Mar.     1778  Dec.    1834 

Cornelius  B.  Everest,  Nov.     1829  Apr.    1836 

Hiram  P.  Arms,  Aug.    1836 

The  church,  with  their  pastor,  removed  from  Saybrook.  Mr.  Fitch  was  a 
native  of  Bocking,  in  Essex,  England.  In  1646,  he  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  church  in  Old  Saybrook.  Rev.  Mr.  Stone,  of  Hartford, 
and  other  ministers  assisted  in  the  ordination  services  ;  but  so  jealous  was  the 
church  of  any  ecclesiastical  power  out  of  themselves,  that  the  imposition  of 
hands  was  by  a  "presbytery"  chosen  from  the  church  for  this  purpose. 


History  of  the  Churches.  459 

Mr.  Fitch  being  disabled  by  palsy,  retired  to  Lebanon  in  1694.  where  he 
spent  the  evening  of  his  life  with  his  children.  He  was  distinguished  for 
the  penetration  of  his  mind,  the  energy  of  his  preaching,  and  the  sanctity 
of  his  life.  Soon  after  coming  to  Norwich,  he  received  a  call  to  settle  in 
Hartford.  His  laconic  reply  was  :  "With  whom  shall  I  leave  these  few 
>heop  in  the  wilderness  ?"  He  preached  to  the  Mohegans  in  their  native 
tongue,  and  gave  them  of  his  own  lands  to  induce  them  to  adopt  the  habits 
of  civilized  life.  Mr.  Woodward  (Assistant  Scribe  of  Saybrook  Synod,, 
1708,  see  p.  3,)  was  in  favor  of  consociation.  The  church  insisted  on- 
their  independence,  in  accordance  with  the  Cambridge  Platform,  and  this 
caused  controversies  and  dissensions,  during  his  ministry,  respecting  "  the 
order  and  exercise  of  church  discipline."  At  the  time  of  Dr.  Lord's  ordi- 
nation, the  church,  by  a  formal  vote,  renounced  the  Saybrook  Platform,  and 
adopted  the  Cambridge  Platform,  and  has  ever  since  maintained  its  indepen- 
dence. Dr.  Lord  was  an  earnest  friend  of  revivals  of  religion,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  witnessing  several  in  connection  with  his  labors.  He  lived  to 
see  eight  religious  societies  grow  out  of  the  one  of  which  he  had  charge. 
During  Dr.  Strong's  ministry,  two  seceding  congregations  became  extinct, 
and  a  considerable  portion  of  their  members  returned  to  his  church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jabez  Fitch,J  Isaac  Backus,  (Bap.)§  Charles  Back- 
us, D.  n.,  A /el  Backus,  D.  D.,  Aaron  Cleaveland,  Ebenezer  Fitch,  D.  D.| 
Charles  Cleaveland,  (h.)  Richard  F.  Cleaveland,  (h.)  Simon  Huntington, 
Daniel  W.  Lathrop,  (h.)  Miron  Winslow,  (f.)  William  Nevins,  D.  D.,' 
Thomas  L.  Shipman,  (h.)  Simeon  Hyde,  David  R.  Austin,  Charles  Hyde, 
James  T.  Hyde,  Erastus  "Wentworth,  D.  D.,  (f.  Meth.)  Gilbert  Beebe,  Zed- 
ediah  H  Mansfield,  (Ep.)  Henry  Case,  (h.)  George  Strong,  (Ep.)  Charles 
Porter,  William  F.  Arms,  (f.)  D.  W.  Havens,  Lynde  Huntington,  Fred. 
Charlton,  (Bap.)  David  Wright,  Thomas  Baldwin,**  D.  D.,  (Bap.)  John 
Huntington,  Stephen  Tracy,  Joseph  Lathrop,  D.  o.tt  John  Lathrop,  D.  D.JJ 
Nathan  Perkins,  D.  D. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  297.  Allen.  tSp.  An.  2.  41.  Allen.  \  Sp.  An.  1.  180.  $  Memoir  by 
Prof.  Hovey,  1859.  |Sp.  An.  3.  511.  T  Sp.  An.  4.  629.  **  Allen.  ttSp.  An.  1.  528. 
Allen,  ft  Allen. 


THE  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  NORWICH,  ORG.  1760 

MINISTERS.                           SETTLED.                    DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Nathaniel  Whitaker,  D.  D.,*   Feb.     1761            Mar.    1769  Mar.    1795 

Ephraim  Judson,t                    Oct.     1771             Dec.    1778  Feb.    1813 

Walter  King, \                          May,   1778            July,  1811  Jan.     1812 

Asahel  Hooker,§                       Jan.     1812  Apr.    1818 

Alfred  Mitchel,  |                       Oct.     1814  Dec.    1831 
James  T.  Dickinson,               April,  1832            Aug.    1834 
Alvan  Bond,  D.  D.,                    May,    1835 

It  was  one  hundred  years  subsequent  to 'the  settlement  of  the  town, 
before  a  church  was  organized  in  what  was  called  "Norwich  Landing,"  now 


460  History  of  the  Churches. 

the  city  of  Norwich.  As  this  part  of  the  town  gradually  increased  in 
population,  in  consequence  of  facilities  for  commercial  pursuits,  the  few  res- 
ident members  of  churches  became  organized  into  a  Congregational  church, 
and  immediately  provided  for  the  support  of  the  ministry.  For  want  of  ac~ 
commodations  for  the  increased  number  of  attendants,  a  colony  from  the 
church  formed  a  new  ecclesiastical  organization  in  the  year  1842.  In  1844, 
the  house  was  so  much  damaged  by  fire,  that  it  was  taken  down.  The  pres- 
ent building,  which  is  of  stone,  was  dedicated  Jan.  1,  1846,  and  has  seats 
for  about  eight  hundred  persons.  Rel.  Intel.  18.  731,  747. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Silas  H.  Hazzard,  Albert  T.  Chester,  D.  D.,  Charles 
H.  Chester,  William  Tracy,  (f.)  Elijah  B.  Huntington,  Henry  L.  Carey,  Gilo 
B.  Wilcox,  Henry  D.  Woodworth. 

*Sp.  An.  1.299.  Allen.  fSp.  An.  2.  20.  J  Sp.  An.  2.  319.  Allen.  §  Sp.  AD.  2. 
317.  Allen.  |  Sp.  An.  2.  601.  Allen. 


The  Church  at  Norwich  Falls,  Norwich,  Org.  Aug.  29,  1827. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Benson  C.  Baldwin,  Jan.    1828  Aug.   1829 

Charles  Hyde,  June,  1830  Oct.     1834 

Joel  W.  Newton,  Oct.     1834  Jan.     1837 

Thomas  K.  Fessenden,  Oct.     1839  Feb.    1841 

The  pastors  were  all  respected  and  beloved  by  the  people.  This  church 
had  a  brief,  but  blessed  history.  A  Sabbath  school  was  formed  in  the  year 
1816.  At  the  organization  of  the  church  in  1827,  there  were  only  ten  mem- 
bers, two  of  whom  presented  letters  from  the  Second  Congregational  Church 
in  Norwich,  seven  came  from  churches  in  other  towns,  and  one  was  received 
on  profession.  The  church  was  much  united  ;  was  blessed  with  seasons  of 
revival ;  did  not  forsake  the  assembling  of  themselves  together,  when  with- 
out a  minister,  and  reached  the  number  of  167  in  all.  Disbanded  May  23, 
1842. 


THE  BROADWAY  (FORMERLY  MAIN  ST.)  CHURCH  IN  NORWICH,  ORG.  JUNE,  1842. 
Willard  Child,  D.  D.,  Aug.    1842  Aug     1845 

John  P.  Gulliver,  Oct.     1846 

This  church  was  originally  organized  with  112  members,  under  the  name 
of  the  Fifth  Congregational  Church  in  Norwich.  On  the  completion  of  its 
first  house  of  worship  on  Main  street,  one  of  the  Congregational  churches  of 
the  town  having  meanwhile  become  extinct,  the  name  was  changed  to  Main 
St.  Church.  Their  house  of  worship  was  completed  and  dedicated  Oct.  1, 
1845.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  Sept  1854.  The  site  having  been  found  too 
contracted  for  the  erection  of  a  house  of  sufficient  size,  a  removal  to  the  cor- 
ner of  Broadway  and  Bath  streets  was  determined  upon.  This  removal  ren- 
dered necessary  another  change  of  name,  and  the  present  title  was  accor- 
dingly given. 


Hislonj  of  the  Churches,  461 

THE  Cimu-ii  IN  OLD  LVJIE,  (FORMERLY  LYME,)  ORO.  1603. 

MIMSTKHS.  hETTI.Kl).  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Moses  Xoyes,*  1666,  inst.  1693  Nov.      1729 

Samuel  Pierpont,*  Dec.     1722  March,  1723 

Jonathan  Parsons,t  1730  1745 

Stephen  Johnson,*  Dec.     1740  Nov.      1786 

Kdward  Porter,  Feb.     1790  Sept.     1792 

Lathrop  Rockwell, {  Jan.     1794  March,  1828 

Chester  Colton,  Feb.     1829  1840 

Davis  S.  Brainerd,  June,   1841 

Mr.  Noyes,  for  some  unexplained  cause,  was  minister  at  Lyme  27  years 
before  the  formation  of  the  Church,  though  he  was  a  man  of  mark  and 
without  reproach.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Saybrook  Synod,  1708. 
rtee  Dr.  Bacon's  Discourse,  p.  4. 

Mr.  Parsons  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  promoters  of  the  revival  of 
1740.  His  account  of  the  revival  in  Lyme  and  his  labors  in  the  vicinity, 
dated  April,  1744,  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  documents  of  the  time,  espec- 
ially when  read  with  his  sermon  of  the  same  date  entitled  "  A  needful  cau- 
tion in  a  critical  day."  See  Tracy's  Great  Airn /.-<•• /tin;/,  pp,  133 — 150,  and 
f'/i>'i*fitt/t  Ilixt.,  2,  118.  About  180  were  reckoned  as  hopeful  converts,  and 
150  were  added  to  the  Church  in  nine  months.  The  purity  of  the  revival 
was  very  much  owing  to  the  above  named  sermon,  of  which  see  an  outline 
in  Tracy,  pp.  146 — 150.  Parsons'  account  of  his  itinerating,  pp.  152-5. 

Revivals  of  religion  have  occurred  in  this  Church  and  community  at  dif- 
ferent intervals,  from  the  days  of  Mr.  Parsons,  who  was  contemporary  with 
the  elder  Edwards  down  to  the  last  year ;  in  which,  perhaps,  the  revival 
then  enjoyed  more  resembled  the  revival  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Parsons 
than  any  previous  one. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Moses  Mather,  D.  n.,  Edward  Dow. 

*  Allen.    tSp.  An.  3.4T.    Am.  Qr.  Reg.  14,  109.    ;Sp.   An.   1.  634.  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  OLD  SAYBKOOK,  (FORMERLY  SAYBROOK,)  ORG.  1646. 

John  ffiggimon*                               1636  1640 

Thomas  Peters J                                 1643  1646 

James  Fitch, t                                      1646  1660        Nov.      1702 

Jeremiah  PC,- I,-,                                  1660?  1670? 

Thomas  Buckingham,}                       1670  April,    1709 

A /.ariah  Mather, t                                  1T10  1732 

William  Hart,?                        Nov.    1736  July,     1784 

Frederick  Win.  HotchkissJ  Sept.    178o  March,  1844 

Kthan  B.  Crane,                      June,  1838  Sept.     1851 

.l,t mi-*  J'.nittie,                         Feb.     1851  Nov.      1852 
Salmon  McCall,                        Dec.     185:) 


462  History  of  the  Churches. 

There  are  no  records  till  1736,  and  nothing  of  importance  till  1783.  Yale 
College  was  first  located  here,  and  the  noted  Saybrook  Platform  was  formed 
herein  1708.  Mr.  Buckingham  being  assistant  Moderator,  (p.3.)  The  min- 
istry of  Mr.  Hotchkiss  was  eminently  successful,  the  increase  being  from  69 
to  330,  and  more  than  600  being  added  in  all.  Additions  in  the  next  pastorate 
130;  in  the  present  56.  See  Dr.  Field's  History  of  Middlesex  Co.,  and 
Hotchkiss's  Half  Century  Sermon. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Benjamin  Lord,  D  D.,  Daniel  Chapman,  Hczekiah 
Ohapman,  EzekielJ.  Chapman,  (h.)  Chas.  Chapman,  Jedediah  Bushnell,  (h)T 
Harvey  Bushnell,  Jackson  J.  Bushnell,  Joseph  A.  Canfield,  William  Cham- 
plin,  Elias  Dudley.** 

*Sp.  An.  1,  91.  t Allen.  JSp.  An.  1,  260.  §Sp.  An.  2,  62.  Allen.  |Sp. 
An.  1,  262.  Allen.  If  Sp.  An.  2, 422.  **  Meiidon  Assoc.  236. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ORANGE,  ORG.  MARCH  13.  1805. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Erastus  Scranton,  July,     1805  Jan.       1827 

Horatio  A.  Parsons,  Dec.       1829  April,    1832 

Horace  Woodruff,  Aug.     1832  June,    1836 

B.  Y.  Messenger,  May,     1837  May,     1838 

John  Starkweather,  April,   1839  April,    1840 

Anson  Smyth,  Nov.     1840  Dec.      1842 

Cyrus  Brewster,  Aug.     1843  Aug.     1848 

William  W.  Belden,  Aug.      1848  May,      1852 

Dillon  Williams,  Jan.       1853  April,    1855 

Alfred  C.  Raymond,  June,    1855 

The  inhabitants  of  North  Milford,  (now  called  Orange,)  attended  meeting 
in  Milford  until  1805.  They  were  incorporated  as  a  Society  in  Oct.,  1804, 
by  request  of  50  petitioners.  The  Church  was  begun  with  five  members. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  parish,  fourteen  years  before  this,  erected  a  meeting 
house,  where  they  had  preaching  in  the  winter  season,  by  the  alternate  la- 
bors of  the  ministers  in  Milford.  While  Mr.  Scranton  continued  at  North 
Milford,  the  Society  greatly  prospered. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Benjamin  Fenn,  George  P.  Prudden,  Elias  Clarke, 


THE  CHURCH  IN  OXFORD,  ORG.  JAN.  9,  1745. 

Jonathan  Lyman,  Jan.       1745  Oct.  1763 

David  Brownson,*  April,   1764  Nov.  1806 

Nathaniel  Freeman,  May,     1811             July,     1814 

Saul  Clark,  1816?                       1817  Dec.  1849 

Ephraim  G.  Sitift,  Dec.      1818            June,    1822  Aug.  1858 


History  of  the  Churches.  463 

MINISTER?.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Sayres  Gazley,  July,    1827  Jan.      1829 

Abraham  Brown,  June,   1830  Aug.      1838 

Stephen  Topliff,  Sept    1841  July,     1860 

The  early  records  are  lost,  and  some  of  the  later  are  defective ;  other  "sup- 
plies" unrecorded.  The  Church  has  been  limited  in  numbers  and  strength, 
(there  having  been  for  many  years,  four  other  places  of  worship  in  town,)  and 
was  for  a  time  aided  by  the  Missionary  Society.  It  has  been  repeatedly  blessed 
with  revivals.  In  1842,  30,  and  in  1851,  33  were  added  to  the  Church, 
and  a  less  number  in  several  other  years  of  revival. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  468. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  PLAIXFIELD,  ORO.  JAN.  3,  1705. 

Joseph  Coit,*          1699?  ord.  Jan.  1705  March,  1748        July,     1750 

David  S.  Rowland,  March,  1748  April,    1761         Jan.       1794 

John  Fuller,  Feb.       1769  Oct.       1777 

Joel  Benedict,  D.  D.t,  Dec.      1784  Feb.      181«> 

nrin  Fowler,;  March,   1820  Jan.       1831         Sept.     185-2 

Samuel  Rockwell,  April,     1832  April,    1841 

Andrew  Dunning,  May,      1842  Jan.       1847 

Henry  Robinson,  April,    1847  April,    1856 

Willuun  A.  Benedict,  Oct       1857? 

Mr.  Coit  declined  a  call  to  Norwich  before  1799,  then  went  to  Plainfield. 
He  ranked  high  among  the  ministers  of  his  time.  Mr.  Rowland's  ministry 
was  in  troublous  times,  on  account  of  the  Separatist  movement,  and  after 
passing  through  many  discouragements  he  took  a  dismission.  He  was  after- 
wards settled  in  Providence  and  Windsor,  and  sustained  the  character  of  a 
faithful  minister  of  Christ.  Mr.  Fuller  had  previously  preached  to  the  Separate 
Churches  at  Lyme  and  Bean  Hill,  and  had  the  reputation  of  a  godly  and  ex- 
cellent minister.  The  Separate  Church  formed  soon  after  Mr.  Rowland's 
settlement  having  declined,  and  the  old  Church  being  also  in  a  feeble  state 
after  his  dismission,  a  desire  for  reunion  was  felt  in  both  Churches,  which  was 
effected  at  Mr.  Fuller's  settlement.  After  Mr.  Fuller's  death,  the  people  were 
again  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  being  supplied  only  a  part  of  the  time. 
Dr.  Benedict  was  a  fine  scholar,  an  able  divine,  a  devoted  pastor,  and  will  be 
long  held  in  cherished  remembrance  by  the  people  of  Plainfield.  During 
the  vacancy  after  his  death,  the  Church  was  in  very  unfavorable  circumstan- 
ces, and  had  but  four  male  members.  Their  house  of  worship,  which  had 
stood  about  30  years,  was  entirely  prostrated  by  the  gale  of  Sept  23,  1815. 
The  present  stone  house  was  begun  soon  after,  but  not  finished  till  the 
spring  of  1819;  the  place  of  worship  in  the  mean  time  being  ill  suited  to 
the  purpose.  There  was  unusual  religious  interest  in  1810-11.  adding  30 
to  the  Church;  a  powerful  revival  in  1821,  adding  71,  and  also  in  1831,  ad- 
ding 28;  in  1838,  adding  28,  and  in  1843,  adding  30.  In  1846,  50,  or  halt 
the  resident  members,  were  dismissed  to  form  the  Church  at  Central  Village. 


464  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Thomas  Stevens,  Josiah  Whitney,'  n.  D.,  Josiah 
SpaldingJ  Elijah  Parish,  D.  D.,[|  Alfred  Johnson,  Jonathan  Kinne,  Thomas 
Andros,*  William  F.  Rowland,""  Ariel  Parish,**  John  D.  Perkins,  George 
Perkins,  Richard  H.  Benedict,  Evan  M.  Johnson,  George  Shepard,  D.  D.,  Ed- 
ward J.  Fuller,  Elderkin  R.  Johnson,  Cyrus  Marsh. 

*  Allen.  tSp.  An.  1.  682.  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  2.  648.  Allen.  §  Mendon.  As.  11'.'. 
|  Sp.  An.2.  268.  ^[Sp.  An.  2,  722.  Allen.  **  Sp.  An.  2.  269. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  PLAINVILLE,  IN  FARMIXGTON,  ORG.  MARCH  16,  1840. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Chauncey  D.  Cowles,  June,  1841  April,    1843 

William  Wright,  Nov.    1843  Sept.     1851 

Joel  L.  Dickinson,  June,  1852  1858 

Edward  L.  Wells,  Aug.   1858  Aug.      1859 

Moses  Smith,  Sept.  1859 

March  5th,  1840,  eighteen  individuals  petitioned  to  be  set  off  as  a  distinct 
church  from  the  first  Congregational  Church  in  Farmington,  and  were,  in 
accordance  with  that  petition,  formed  into  a  Church  by  an  Ecclesiastical 
Council. 

Since  then  the  Church  has  steadily  increased  and  God  has  wonderfully 
blessed  it  in  numerous  revivals. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  PLYMOUTH,  (FORMERLY  NORTHBURY,)  ORG.  MAY,  1740. 
Samuel  Todd,*  May,    1740  Aug.      1764        June,     178'.t 

Andrew  Storrs,t  Nov.    1765  March,  1785 

Joseph  Badger,\  1786  1787  184<i 

Simon  Waterman,  Aug.    1787  Nov.      1809         Nov.      1813 

Luther  Hart,§  Sept.    1810  April,    1834 

Ephraim  Lyman,  Oct.      1835  June,    1851 

Israel  P.  Warren,  Oct.     1851  Feb.      1856 

Erskine  J.  Hawcs,  Jan.     1858  July,     i860 

The  Ecclesiastical  Society  of  Northbury,  the  third  in  Waterbury.  (West- 
bury,  now  Watertown,  being  the  second,)  was  formed  Nov.  17-')!>.  Tt  has 
had  four  houses  of  worship.  The  first  stood  in  Plymouth  Hollow  village. 
The  other  two  occupied  nearly  the  same  ground  on  the  Hill  as  that  occupied 
by  the  present  edifice,  which  was  erected  about  the  time  the  Churches  in^he 
Hollow  and  Terry ville  were  formed.  The  Church  has  enjoyed  several  seasons 
of  religious  awakening,  eight  of  which  were  during  Mr.  Hart's  ministry, 
and  at  his  death ;  adding  from  19  to  92  members  each,  344  in  all ;  and  a  good 
number  at  eight  or  ten  other  seasons.  EC.  Mag.  2.  60. 

In  1837,  49  persons  were  dismissed  to  constitute  the  Church  in  Terryville, 
and  at  the  same  time,  5 1  to  form  the  Church  in  Plymouth  Hollow. 


History  of  the  Churches.  465 

I  N.      '  Sp.  An.  1,  -106.     JSp.  An.  ."..  17:;.      ?  %>.  An.  2, 523.      AUen. 

Litchf.  Centen.  124. 


THE  CHURCH  rx  PLYMOUTH  HOLLOW,  ORG.  DEC.  7,  1837. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED 

Harvey  D.  Kitchell,  D  D.,        July,  1839  Sept     1848 

Joseph  1).  Hull,  May,   1849  June,     1851 

Jiimes  AverilL,  Oct     1852 

This  was  a  colony  of  51  members  from  the  first  Church.  The  occasion 
of  its  organization  was  the  springing  up  of  the  villages  in  the  west  part  of 
the  town,  and  especially  that  in  Plymouth  Hollow.  This  Church  has  enjoy- 
ed revivals  in  1838-9,  1846-7,  and  1858-9. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  ix  POMFRET,  ORO.  OCT.  26,  1715. 

Ebenezer  Williams,*  1713  Oct.       1715         March,  1753 

Aaron  Putnam.t  March,  1756  May,-     1802 

Asa  King,}  May,      1802  June,     1811         Dec.       1840 

James  Porter,§  Sept      1814  April,    1830 

Amzi  Benedict,  Oct       1831  July,     1834 

Daniel  Hunt,  April,    1835 

Mr.  Williams  was  a  native  of  Roxbury,  Mass  ,  and  a  nephew  of  Rev.  John 
Williams  of  Deerfield.  Mr.  King,  afterwards  of  Killingworth  and  West- 
minster. 

This  Church  has  had  periods  of  trial  in  its  history.  Sometimes  the  time 
between  pastorates  has  been  longer  than  was  desirable  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  uniting  upon  a  candidate.  But  the  people  have  never  had  a 
stated  supply,  and  have  never  been  without  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  for 
any  great  length  of  time.  They  have  always  been  self-supporting,  and  have 
•lone  something  to  help  the  weak. 

The  first  meeting  house  in  Pomfret  was  built  in  the  summer  of  1734. 
The  Churches  in  Brooklyn  and  Abington  were  subsequently  formed  from 
this. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Chester  Williams,  Ezra  Weld,  Joshua  Paine,| 
Kbenezer  Grosvenor,  Ephraim  Hyde,  Holland  Weeks,  Joseph  Pope,  Joseph 
Sumner,  D.  D.,"f  Joseph  Dana,  D.  i> ,  Eleazer  Crofut,  Abraham  Salim,  John 
Salim,  Thomas  Williams,  Daniel  Grosvenor,  Aaron  Putnam,  William  Morse, 
Henry  Gleason,  Nathan  Grosvenor,  George  Payson,  Joshua  P.  Payson,  Ma- 
son Grosvenor,  Charles  P.  Grosvenor,  Job  Hall,  Elijah  Wheeler,  Nehemiah 
Williams,  George  N.  Webber. 

••• -  Sp.  AH.  1,323.  Allen,  t  Sp.  An  1,  358.  Allen.  {  AlK-n.  £  Cong.  Y.  B.  1857, 
138.  Allen.  '  >!•.  An.  4,  630. 

60 


466  History  of  the  Churches. 

The  Church  in  Poquonnock,  Org.  about  1720. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Woodbridge,  1731  ?  1736 

Samuel  Tudor,  1737?  1758? 

Dan  Foster,  1774  1784 

This  church  had  no  minister  for  many  years  after  the  dismission  of  Mi-. 
Tudor,  and  was  in  a  very  sad  condition.  Mr.  Foster  became  a  Universalist, 
and  left  the  people  in  a  worse  condition  than  he  found  them.  There  was  no 
minister  after  him.  The  church  perished  by  the  decrease  of  its  members, 
and  their  house  of  worship  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Universalists.  The 
present  church  at  Poquonnock  is  a  new  organization,  formed  in  1841. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  POQUONNOCK,  IN  WINDSOR,  ORG.  JUNE  2,  1841. 
Cornelius  B.  Everest,  1843  1852 

Thomas  H.  Rouse,  1852,  ord.  July,  1854  Oct.     1856 
Henry  J.  Lamb,                      May,    1857  1859 

Ogden  Hall,  (c.)  May,    1859? 

The  church  worshiped  in  a  hall   till  1851,  when  they  completed  their 
house  of  worship. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  PORTLAND,  ORG.  OCT.  25,  1721. 
Daniel  Newell,  Oct.     1721  Sept.   1731 

Moses  Bartlett,  June,  1733  Dec.     1766 

Cyprian  Strong,  D.  D..*  Aug.    1767  Nov.    1811 

Eber  L.  Clark,  Sept.    1812  Aug.    1815 

Hervey  Talcott,  Oct.     1816 

The  first  settlers  of  the  place  were  from  Middletown.  The  society  was  or- 
ganized in  1714,  and  the  first  meeting-house  was  built  in  1716,  the  second  in 
1750,  and  the  third  in  1850.  In  1851,  38  members  of  the  church  were 
dismissed,  and  formed  into  what  is  called  the  Central  Church.  The  great- 
est religious  revivals  were  in  1823  and  1831.  In  several  other  years  there 
have  been  smaller  revivals.  The  church  at  first  had  29  members.  The 
several  pastors  have  admitted  to  the  church  50,  114,  193,  24  and  228, — to- 
tal, 638. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Shepard,  D.  D.t 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  651.    Alien,     t  Sp.  An.  2.  384. 


THE  CENTRAL  CHURCH,  PORTLAND,  ORG.  JAN.  27,  1851. 
Samuel  0.  W.  Rankin,  (c.)  Jan.    1851  ? 

A  colony  from  the  First  Church,  occasioned  by  the  removal  of  the  old 
ineeting-house.     There  is  room  enough  for  two  churches,  but  many  do   not 


History  of  the  Churches.  467 

avail  themselves  of  the  benefit  of  either.  This  Church  has  a  very  comfort - 
altk-  house  of  worship,  which  cost  $4,500;  it  has  enjoyed  two  revivals  with 
yrood  results. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  PRESTOS,  ORG.  Nov.  16,  1698. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  Dili*. 

Salmon  Treat,*  Nov.     1698  1744  1762 

Asher  Rosseter.t  1744  1781 

Jonathan  Fuller,  1784  1786 

Lemuel  Tyler,  1789  1808 

John  Hyde,  1812  1827  Aug.    1848 

Augustus  B.  Collins,  1828  1847 

Nathan  S.  Hunt,  1847  1858 

Elijah  W.  Turbi;  1858 

The  church  was  very  small  for  forty  or  fifty  years,  having  become  reduced 
during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Rosseter  to  17,  and  numbering  only  28  at  the 
death  of  Mr.  Tyler.  In  the  next  fifty  years  it  increased  to  more  than  100. 
being  nearly  as  large  as  at  any  time  in  its  history.  A  large  fund  renders 
the  support  of  the  gospel  very  easy.  The  house  of  worship  was  repaired 
and  remodeled  in  1849. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Alexander  Yerrington. 
*  Allen,    t  Allen. 


The  Church  in  Long  Society,  in  Preston,  (Norwich  5th,)  Org.  about  1726. 
Jabcz  Wight,*  1726  1782 

Roswell  Whitmore,  1848?  1849V 

Jacob  Allen,  1850  1851 

Dr.  Benjamin  Lord,  of  Norwich  Town,  preached  Mr.  Wight's  ordination 
sermon,  in  1726,  which  was  published.  The  records  speak  in  1758  of  a 
meeting-house,  and  a  minister,  then  settled  in  the  "East  Society  of  Nor- 
wich.'' None  has  been  settled  since  his  death.  After  that  the  meeting- 
house was  open  to  all  denominations  who  chose  to  occupy  it.  The  second 
house  was  built  in  1817,  and  several  years  since  was  sold  to  the  town  for  a 
town-house.  At  one  time  it  was  voted  that  any  one  in  the  society  might  in- 
vite a  minister  of  any  denomination  to  preach,  and  a  collection  would  be  ta- 
ken up  to  pay  him.  The  records  often  speak  of  unsuccessful  efforts  to  raise 
money  to  support  preaching  for  six  months  at  a  time.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  resuscitate  this  waning  church  in  Oct.  1837,  but  paucity  of  member? 
and  inefficiency  finally  prevailed,  and  it  was  disbanded  in  1857. 
*  Sp.  An.  1.  299.  Allen. 


468  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  ix  PKOSPECT,  (FOKMERLY  COLUMBIA,)  ORG.  MAY  14.   1708. 


MINISTERS. 

SKTTLED. 

DISMISSED. 

Reuben  Hitchcock, 

1790 

1794 

Oliver  Hitchcock, 

Sept.    1798 

Jan.    1812 

David  Bacon, 

April,  1813 

1814 

Abraham  Fowler, 

Jan.     1815 

Jan.     1816 

Gideon  Burt, 

Jan.     1816 

Jan.    1817 

John  Marsh, 

1817 

1818 

Samuel  Rich, 

May,    1818 

May,   1824 

John  E.  Bray,  July,  1825,  ord.  May,  1827 

Sept.   1832 

•fames  D.  Chapman, 

Sept.    1832 

Sept.    1833 

Sylvester  Selden, 

1834 

1836 

Zephaniah  Smith. 

1836 

1837 

Ammi  Linsley, 

Maj',    1837 

1839 

Edward  Bull, 

May,    1840 

May,   1843 

Reuben  Torrey, 

June,  1843 

April,  1848 

John  L.  Ambler, 

Jan.     1849 

Feb.    1851 

James  Kilbourn, 

Oct.      1851 

Mar.    1854 

Asa  M.  Train, 

Mar.     1855 

Mar.    1856 

Joseph  H.  Payne, 

April,  1856 

Jan.     1858 

Asa  M.  Train, 

Feb.     1858 

1860 

William  W.  Atwater, 

1860 

1848 


The  Columbia  Society  was  formed  from  portions  of  the  towns  of  Water- 
bury  and  Cheshire,  giving  17  members  of  those  societies  liberty  of  retaining 
their  former  connection.  The  society,  with  original  bounds,  became  the 
town  of  Prospect,  in  1827.  An  old  Separate  meeting-house  was  at  first  oc- 
cupied, being  repaired  in  1801.  The  present  house  was  built,  with  some  aid 
out  of  town,  in  1841.  Sermons  were  delivered  at  the  dedication,  and  instal- 
lation of  Mr.  Torrey  by  Mr.  Bull.  The  church  has  long  been  dependent  on 
home  missionary  aid.  There  have  been  interesting  revivals  of  religion. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  PUTXAM  VILLAGE,  ORO.  JULY  9,  1848. 
E.  B.  Huntington,  Nov.    1848  Feb.    1851 

J.  Leonard  Corning,  June,  1852  Jan.    1853 

Sidney  L.  Dean,  (Meth.)        April,  1853  Nov.    1854 

J.  R.  Johnson,  Mar.     1855  April,  1856 

EliaTcim  Phelps,  D.  D.,  May,    1856  Jan.     1858 

George  J.  Tillotson,  (c.)         Mar.    1858 

This  church  has  grown  up  in  the  large  and  thriving  village  which  has 
arisen  around  the  Putnam  depot  of  the  Norwich  and  Worcester  Railroad. 
The  attention  of  the  association  of  Windham  County  was  turned  to  the  de- 
sirableness of  establishing  a  church  here  in  1846,  by  whose  direction  and 
aid  the  present  minister  left  his  charge  several  weeks  to  labor  here.  Preach- 
ing continued  from  that  time.  Though  the  church  has  had  some  trials,  yet 


History  of  the  Churches.  469 

it  has  been  generally  making  progress.  Within  the  last  two  or  three  years 
especially,  it  has  greatly  advanced  in  numbers  and  efficiency,  and  now  has 
the  prospect  of  becoming  a  strong  and  useful  member  of  our  fraternity  of 
Puritanical  churches. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  REDOING,  ORO.  1733. 

MINISTERS.  [SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Nathaniel  Hunn,*  1733  1749 

Nathaniel  Bartlctt,+  May,    1775  1810 

Jonathan  Bartlett,  Feb.     1796  June,  1809  Mar.    1858 

Daniel  Crocker,  Oct.     1809  Oct     1824  1831 

William  C.  Kniffin,  June,  1825  Dee.     1828  1858 

William  L.  Strong,  June,  1830  Feb.     1835 

Jeremiah  Miller,  July,    ^37  July,  1839 

David  C.  Comstock,  Mar      1840  April,  1845 

Daniel  D.  Frost,  Dec.     1846  Oct     1856 

X.  IltintingtoH,  1858  1859 

Hcrricl;  Jan.     1860 

Jonathan  Bartlett,  son  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Bartlett,  was  a  pupil  of  Pres- 
ident Dwight,  and  was  converted  under  his  ministry.  He  was  ordained  as  a 
colleague  with  his  father,  and  was  dismissed  on  account  of  ill  health.  In 
the  latter  part  of  his  pastorate,  there  was  a  powerful  revival  of  religion 
among  the  people  of  his  charge.  After  his  health  was  restored,  he  used  to 
preach  to  destitute  congregations  in  the  vicinity,  as  well  as  to  his  own  peo- 
ple when  they  were  without  a  pastor.  He  was  a  good  preacher,  and  mighty 
in  the  scriptures;  being  so  familiar  with  them,  that  he  could  recite  several 
entire  epistles  from  memory  :  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  could  repeat  more 
of  the  New  Testament  in  Greek,  than  any  other  minister  in  the  land.  He 
always  loved  the  flock  over  whom  he  had  been  settled,  and  gave  them  at  va- 
rious times  more  money  than  they  paid  him  during  his  pastorate.  He  left 
them,  in  addition,  a  legacy  of  $3,000  at  his  death.  At  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease, he  was  the  oldest  Congregational  minister  in  Connecticut,  being  in 
the  62d  year  of  his  ministry,  and  in  the  94th  year  of  his  age.  He  lived 
and  died  in  the  house  where  he  was  born,  and  his  end  was  peace. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jonathan  Bartlett,  Thomas  F.  Davies. 
*  Allen.    tSp.  An.  1.  638. 


THE  CHVKCII  rx  RIDGEBUKV,  IK  RIDGEFIELD,  ORG.  JAN.  18,  1769. 
Samuel  Camp,*  Jan.     1769  Nov.    1804  Oct.     1813 

Nathan  Burton,  Nov.    1821  June,  1841  Aug.    1859 

Xalmon  B.  Burr,  June,   1st:;  May,  1850 

Philo  Canfield,  Sept.    1852  April,  1856 


470  History  of  the  Churches. 

HINISTEES.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

William  W.  Page,  Aug.    185C  Aug.    1859 

KnochS.  ffuntinyton,  Oct.     1859 

This  church  ever  has  been,  arid  must  of  necessity  be,  small  in  numbers, 
being  located  on  a  narrow  ridge  of  land,  and  having  to  suffer  embarrassment 
from  a  Baptist  church  located  in  their  midst,  and  more  particularly  from  be- 
ing so  near  to  Danbury.  Ridgebury  being  a  farming  community  exclu- 
sively, and  Danbury  a  large  manufacturing  town,  the  tendency  is  to  make 
farming  unpopular,  particularly  with  the  young  men,  so  that  as  soon  as 
they  get  to  years  of  majority,  they  move  away,  greatly  to  the  embarrass- 
ment of  the  church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Nathan  Burton,  Oliver  St.  John,  Jacob  St.  John. 
*  Sp.  An.  1.  664. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  RIDGEFIELD,  ORG.  1712. 

Thomas  Hawley,*  1712  Nov.    1738 

Jonathan  Ingersol,t  July,    1740  Oct.     1778 

Justus  Mitchell,  1779?  1782? 

Samuel  Goodrich,  J:  July,    1786  Jan.     1811  April,  1835 

Jonathan  Bartlett,  1811  1814?          Mar.    1858 

JohnNoyes,  1814  1817  May,    1846 

Samuel  M.  Phelps,  June,  1817  Dec.     1829  Dec.     1841 

Charles  G.  Selleck,  May,    1831  Sept.    1837 

Joseph  Fuller,  Feb.     1838  May,    1842 

James  A.  Hawley,  Oct.     1843  Nov.    1849 

Clinton  Clark,  June;   1850 

The  township  of  Ridgefield  was  purchased  of  the  Indians  by  a  compan}' 
of  twenty-nine  individuals  from  Norwalk  and  Milford.  The  deed  bears  date 
1707-8.  In  Oct.  1712,  the  General  Assembly,  upon  the  petition  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Ridgefield,  passed  an  order  "  that  all  the  lands  lying  in  the 
town  of  Ridgefield,  be  taxed  in  proportion  for  four  years,  towards  the  set- 
tling and  maintaining  of  the  ministry  in  the  said  town  of  Ridgefield."  Bel, 
Intel  1C.  540. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  488.     Allen,     t  Allen.     J  Sp.  An.  1.  512.     Allen. 


THE   FIRST  Clinton  IN  ROCKVILLE,  IN  VERNON,  ORG.  OCT.  26,   1837. 

Ansel  Nash,  Jan.      1839  July,   1841 

Augustus  Pomroy,  Sept,    1841  Sept.    1844 

Horace  Winslow,  Oct.      1845  Nov.    1852 

John  W.  Ray,  Dec.    1853  Feb.     1854 

Thomas  0.  Rice,  April,  1856  April,  1857 

Smith  B.  Goodenow,  Nov.    1858  May,    1860 


History  of  the  Churches.  471 

Rockvillc  is  a  manufacturing  village  in  the  northern  part  of  Vernon,  on 
the  Hockanum  River.  The  first  factory  was  erected  in  1821,  at  which  time 
there  were  thirteen  families  within  the  present  limits  of  Rockville.  Since 
that  time  the  population  has  been  regularly  increasing,  and  is  now  (1859) 
about  2500.  The  people  here  attended  church  at  Vernon  Center  till  1836,  at 
which  time  the  population  was  444.  The  time  had  now  arrived  when  it 
seemed  necessary  that  the  ministrations  of  the  gospel  should  be  enjoyed  by 
the  people,  without  being  obliged  to  travel  the  distance  of  three  miles.  Ac- 
cordingly, a  petition  was  drafted  and  signed  by  fourteen  petitioners,  which 
was  presented  to  the  Congregational  church  in  Vernon,  asking  permission  to 
hold  meetings  in  a  room  already  provided,  and  to  make  an  effort  to  sustain 
the  gospel  ministrations  in  this  place,  with  a  view,  if  they  were  prosperous, 
of  eventually  asking  that  their  special  relations  with  the  church  in  Vernon 
might  be  dissolved,  and  they  be  organized  into  a  church  of  the  same  order. 
The  petition  was  readily  granted.  The  first  preaching  on  the  Sabbath  in 
this  place,  was  Dec.  18,  183G,  by  Rev.  Bennet  Tyler,  D.  D.,  of  East  Windsor. 


THE  SECOND  CHURCH  OF  ROCKVILLE,  ix  VERXOX,  ORG.  FEB.  22,  1849. 

MIMSTKK-.  SETTLED.  DISUSED.  DIBI>. 

Andrew  Sharp,  Sept.    1849  Dec.    1851 

C.  H.  Bullard,  Nov.     185:3  Jan.     1857 

C.  W.  Clapp,  May,    1857 

In  eleven  years  after  the  formation  of  the  First  Church,  it  had  increased 
to  such  an  extent,  as  to  vote  that  "  the  time  had  come  for  the  formation  of  a 
second  church."  The  society  was  formed  in  February,  1848.  The  church 
adopted  a  rule  for  a  "triennial  deaconship."  The  prevailing  Christian  influ- 
ence in  the  village,  from  the  first,  has  been  Congregational.  The  church  has 
enjoyed  frequent  tokens  of  Divine  favor  in  outpourings  of  the  Spirit,  espe- 
cially in  1850,  '52,  '54  and  '58.  The  Sabbath  school  contains  children  of 
many  foreign  families,  who  can  scarely  be  reached  in  any  other  way.  Tin- 
church  is  steadfast  in  devotion  to  the  principles  of  liberty,  temperance  and 
( 'hristian  enterprise  at  home  and  abroad. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — K.  C.  Bissell. 


THE  CHUKCH  IN  ROCKY  HILL,  (FORMERLY  STEPNEY,)  OR<;.  JUNK  7,  1727. 
Daniel  Russell,*  Jan.     1727  Sept.    1764 

Burrage  Merriam,  Feb.    1765  Nov.    1776 

John  Lewis,  +  Jan.     1781  April,  1792 

Calvin  Chapin,  D.  n.,J  April,  1794  Alar.    1851 

L.  B.  Rockwood,  July,    1850  Jan.     1859 

George  M.  Smith,  Oct.      1859 

This  church  has  had  but    six  pastors  since  its  organization.     The  first 
four  died  as  pastors,  and  were  buried  in  Rocky  Hill.     The  church  has  had  a 


472  History  of  the  Churches. 

good  degree  of  prosperity  from  its  first  formation.  The  year  1858  was  one 
of  unusual  religious  interest.  Dr.  Nettleton  labored  here  in  1818,  with 
happy  results.  Memoir,  97. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Nathaniel  G.  Huntington. 

*  Allen,     t  Sp.  An.  2.  324.     Alien.     J  Sp  An.  2.  323.     Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  ROXBURY,  ORG.  JUNE  1744. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Thomas  Canfield,  1744  1795 

Zephaniah  Swift,  1795  1812  1848 

Fosdic  Harrison,  1813  1835  Feb.  IS"^ 

Austin  Isham,  1839 

The  Church  in  Roxbury,  like  many  other  churches,  began  with  few  in 
number  and  at  times  seemed  struggling  between  life  and  death.  But  the 
Great  Head  of  the  Church  has  in  a  wonderful  manner  fulfilled  to  His  peo- 
ple here  His  gracious  promises,  so  that  they  may  truly  say  "hitherto  hath 
the  Lord  helped  us." 

Our  fathers,  who  now  "  rest  from  their  labors,"  established  a  permanent 
fund,  now  amounting  to  between  five  and  six  thousand  dollars,  the  interest 
of  which  goes  to  sustain  a  preached  gospel.  From  time  to  time,  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  been  signally  manifested,  greatly  refreshing  the  hearts  of  believers 
and  bringing  numbers,  especially  of  baptized  children  and  youth,  into  the 
fold  of  the  blessed  Redeemer. 


THE   CHURCH  IN  SALEM,  (FORMERLY  COLCHESTER,  2d,j  OHG.    1719. — RE-OH- 

GANIZED,  1793. 

Joseph  Lovett,  1719  1745 

David  Huntington,  1775  1796        April,    1812 

Amasa  Loomis,  Jr.,  Ma}-,   1813  Jan.       1817 

Royal  Tyler,*  Jan.     1818  Dec.       1821         April,    1820 

Eli  Hyde,t  Nov.    1822  April,    1831         Oct.       1856 

Charles  Thompson,t  Oct.     1833  March,  18-"' 

B.  B.  Hopkimon,  May,  1855  May,      1857 

Nathaniel  Miner,  May,  1857 

There  are  traditions  extant  concerning  Mr.  Lovett,  and  some  living  who 
recollect  Mr.  Huntington,  who  went  to  Hamburg  in  Lyme.  Almost  nothing 
is  known  of  the  Church  before  its  re-organization.  After  that,  they  hail 
preaching  but  seldom,  and  being  reduced  in  numbers  by  death  and  removals 
they  ceased  to  meet  as  a  Church  until  May  5th,  1813,  when  the  prospect  of 
enjoying  the  ministry  regularly  settled  among  them,  and  the  application 
of  several  persons  for  admission  into  covenant  with  them,  induced  them  to 

meet. 

*Mendon  As.  240.    tCong.  Y.  B.  3.  120. 


History  of  the  Churches.  473 

THE  CHURCH  IN  SALISBURY,  ORG.  Nov.  22,  1744. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jonathan  Lee,*  Nov.  1743,  ord.  Nov.  '44  Oct.       1788 

William  F.  Miller,  (c.)  1790 

John  Eliot,  (c.)  1791 

James  Glassbrool;  1792  1793         Oct       1793 

Ebenezer  Porter,  D.  D.,  (c.)  1795  April,    1834 

T.  M.  CooUy,  D.  D.,  (c.)  1795  Dec,      1859 

Joseph  W.  Grossman,  June,  1796,  ord.  June,  1797  Dec.      1812 

John  P>.  Whittlesey,  (c.)         Dec.    1812  Aug.     1813 

William  R.  Weeks,  D.  D.,  (c.)  1814  1815  1848 

Chauneey  A.   Goodrich,  D.  D.,  (c.)    1815  Feb.      1860 

Asahel  Nettleton,  D.  D.,  1815  1816         May,     1844 

Federal  Burt,  (c.)  181t> 

Lavius  Hyde,  Mar.  1817,  ord.  Mar.    1818  Aug.      1822 

William,  C.  Fowler,  (c.)  1823 

Amzi  Benedict,  1823 

L.  E.  Lathrop,  D.  D.,  Jan.  '24,  inst.  Feb.  1825      Oct.       1836  1857 

Adam  Reid,    Nov.  1836,  ord.  Sept.  1837 

The  town  transacted  ecclesiastical  business  till  the  Society  was  organized 
in  1804.  Public  worship  was  attended  for  several  months  in  three  dwelling 
houses,  and  then  in  a  log  house  built  for  the  purpose,  and  for  the  use  of  the 
minister's  family,  till  1749,  when  a  meeting  house  was  built ;  the  second 
house  in  1800.  The  Church  and  first  pastor  favored  the  Great  Awakening. 
The  Association  of  New  Haven  County  reprimanded  the  Church  for  adopt- 
ing the  Cambridge  Platform,  and  suspended  Rev.  Messrs.  Humphreys  of 
Derby,  Leavenworth  of  Waterbury,  and  Todd  of  Northbury,  for  ordaining 
Mr.  Lee.  He  was  a  man  fitted  for  the  exigencies  of  the  times,  and  to  his  in- 
fluence is  to  be  attributed  much  of  the  manly,  independent  spirit,  intelli- 
gence, sagacity,  breadth  and  weight  of  character  by  which  the  town  has 
ever  been  characterized.  He  received  to  the  Church  252.  There  was  a 
very  extensive  revival  under  Dr.  Nettleton's  labors  ;  (Memoir,  81,)  and  an- 
other under  Dr.  Lathrop.  See  Centennial  Address  of  Judge  Church  ;  and 
Historical  Address  of  Mr.  Reid,  1844.  Rel.  Intel.  12,  795. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — James  Hutchinson,  Samuel  Camp,  Chauneey  Lee, 
i>.  D.,  Henry  P.  Strong,  Horace  Holley,  D.  D.,  William  L.  Strong,  Isaac  Bird, 
(f.)  Jonathan  Lee,  George  A  Calhoun,  D.  D.,  Edward  Hollister,  (h.)  Edwin 
Holmes,  Edmund  Janes,  Edwin  Janes,  Joseph  Pettee,  Josiah  Turner, 
Eliphalet  Whittlesey,  (f.)  Elisha  Whittlesey,  Henry  Pratt. 
*  Sp.  An.  2,  288.  Allen.  Litchf.  Ceuten.  115. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND,  ORG.  OCT.  22,  1735. 

Ebenezer  Devetion,*  Oct.     1735  July,     1771 

James  Cogswell,  D.  D.,t  Feb.     1772  Dec.      1804        Jan.      1807 

61 


474  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Cornelius  Adams,  Dec.    1805  Nov.      1806 

Elijah  G.  Welles,  Jan.    1808  May,     1810  1855 

Jesse  Fisher,}  Mar.    1811  Sept.      1836 

Otis  C.  Whiton,  June,  1837  April,    1841         Oct.       1845 

Thomas  Tallman,  Mar.    1844 

The  third  Society  in  Windham,  (now  Scotland,)  was  incorporated  May 
11,  1732  ;  the  town,  July  4,  1857.  Eighty-nine  were  dismissed  from  the 
First  Church  in  Windham,  to  constitute  the  Church. 

The  whole  number  who  have  joined  the  Church  in  Scotland  is  746.  The 
Church  has  not  been  visited  by  very  frequent  revivals.  The  most  powerful 
was  in  1832,  when  54  were  added.  The  Church  has  been  destitute  of  a  pas- 
tor only  about  seven  years  in  all. 

The  Society  is  now  occupying  its  third  meeting  house.  See  Brunswick 
Separate  Church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Huntington,  D.  D-,  Enoch  Huntington,  Da- 
vid Ripley,  Hezekiah  Ripley,  D  D.,  John  Palmer,  David  Palmer,  Daniel 
Waldo,  Ralph  Robinson,  Lucien  Farnham,  (h.)  Ebenezer  Jennings,  Asa  A. 
Robinson,  (Bapt.) 

*  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1,  445.    Allen.    J  Sp.  An.  1. 538. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SEYMOUR,  (FORMERLY  HUMPHREYSVILLE,)  ORG.  MAR.  12,  1817. 

Aug.      1858 
March,  1855 


Ephraim  G.  Swift, 

1825 

1827 

Chas.  Thompson,  June, 

'28,  ord.  Apr.  1830 

June,    1833 

John  E.  Bray, 

Sept.    1834 

April,    1842 

William  B.  Curtis, 

Aug.     1843 

Oct.       1849 

E.  B.  Chamberlain, 

April,   1850 

April,    1852 

James  L.  Willard,  (lie.)         Sept.    1852 

April,    1855 

H.  D.  Northrop,  (lie.) 

Aug.     1857 

March,  1859 

E.  C.  Baldwin,  (lie.) 

May,    1859 

May,     I860 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  built  about  the  time  of  the  organization  of 
the  Church  ;  the  second  in  1846.  There  were  revivals  under  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Bray  and  Mr.  Northrop.  The  failure  of  an  extensive  branch  of  man- 
ufacture, in  1855,  removing  about  30  families  from  the  congregation,  greatly 
reduced  the  resources  of  the  society,  and  made  the  Church,  after  several 
years  of  self-support,  again  dependent  on  home  missionary  aid. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Ira  Smith,  (h.)  H.  A.  DeForest,  (f.) 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SHARON,  ORG.  1740. 

Peter  Pratt,*  April,  1740  Oct.       1747  1780 

John  Searl,*  Aug.    1749  June,    1754  1787 


History  of  the  Churches.  475 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Cotton  Mather  Smith,t  Aug.    1755  1806 

David  L.  Perry,  June,  1804  1835 

M;i<on  Grosvenor,  Sept   1836  June,     1839 

Grove  L.  Brownell,  May,   1840  Aug.     1848 

Charles  Rockwell,  April,  1850  June,     1851 

Thomas  G.  Carver,  Oct.     1851  1853 

L.  E   Lathrop,  D.  D.J  July,    1854  Aug.     1857 

D.  D.  McLaughlin,  Jan.     1859 

The  town  was  incorporated  Oct.  1739,  and  as  appears  from  the  records, 
the  Church  was  organized  about  the  time  of  Mr.  Pratt's  settlement.  In 
1822  a  general  revival  of  religion  was  experienced  throughout  the  Society 
and  large  accessions  made  to  the  Church,  also  general  revivals  in  1806  and 
1839,  and  less  extensive  at  several  other  times.  In  1824,  the  present  church 
edifice  was  built  with  great  unanimity.  Within  a  few  years  past  their  num- 
bers have  been  diminishing  by  deaths  and  removals. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jeremiah  Day,  Daniel  Smith,  Vinson  Gould,  Da- 
vid R.  Gould,  Charles  Y.  Chase,  Alvin  Somers,  William  Jewell,  Hiram 
White,  (Meth.)  John  M.  S.  Perry,*  (f.)  David  C.  Perry,  Gilbert  L.  Smith, 
Charles  H.  Read,  James  Cleaveland,  George  I.  Kaercher,  Jesse  W.  Guern^ 
sey. 

*  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1.  500.    Litchf.  Centen.  96.     J  Cong.  Y.  Book,  5. 108. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  SHERMAN,  (FORMERLY  NORTH  NEW  FAIRFIELD,)  ORO.  1751. 
Thomas  Lewis,  Mar.     1744  Oct    '   1746 

Elijah  Sill,  Oct.     1751  Oct.       1779 

Oliver  D.  Cook,  May,    1792  Nov.     1793 

Maltby  Gelston,  April,  1797  Dec.      1856 

N.  M.  Urmston,  May,    1841  May,     1843 

Elijah  Whitney,  Nov.    1843  Nov.      1844 

Judson  B.  Stoddard,  Oct.      1845  Oct.       1854 

Revillo  J.    Cone,  Jan.     1856  July,     1858 

William  Russell,  1859 

This  Church  and  Society  have  always  been  small,  being  originally  called 
North  New  Fairfield,  and  set  off  from  New  Fairfield,  as  the  town  of  Sher- 
man, in  1803.  The  only  deacon  died  in  1810,  and  Mr.  Gelston  officiated  both 
as  pastor  and  deacon  till  1813  ;  and  for  several  years,  there  were  but  three 
male  members.  The  first  house  of  worship  was  small,  much  like  a  common 
school  house;  the  second  was  built  in  1785-9  ;  the  third  in  1836. 
See  Mr.  Gehtorfs  Funeral  Sermon,  1857.  Cong.  Y.  B.  1857,  108. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Maltby  Gelston,  Jr.,  Mills  B.  Gelston. 


476  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  is  SIMSBURY,  ORG.  1682. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Stone,  1682?  1687? 

Edward  Thompson,  1687  1691 

Seth  Shove*  1691  1695?       Oct.       1735 

Dudley  Woodbridge,  Nov.  1697  Aug.      1710 

Timothy  Woodbridge,  Jr.         Nov.  1712  Aug.     1742 

Gideon  Mills,!  Sept.  1744  Sept.     1754  1772 

Benajah  Roots,  Aug.  1757  1772 

Samuel  Stebbins,  Dec.   1777  Nov.      1806         Jan.      1820 

Allen  McLean,  Aug.  1809 

Samuel  T.  Richards,  May,  1850  July,     1858 

0.  S.  Taylor,  Sept.  1859 

The  settlement  of  Simsbury  commenced  about  1661.  A  number  of  enter- 
prising farmers,  from  Windsor,  were  attracted  there  by  the  broad  and  fertile 
meadows  on  the  river,  and  by  the  beautiful  and  rich  forests  on  the  plain. 
The  first  settlers  took  early  measures  to  establish  the  ministry,  and  erect  a 
house  for  public  worship.  The  half-way  covenant  was  in  use  till  after  Mr. 
McLean's  settlement.  In  1813-14  the  Spirit  of  God  descended  with  great 
power,  and  wrought  a  wonderful  work  of  grace,  in  which  the  whole  popu- 
lation were  more  or  less  affected.  Since  that  time  there  has  been  a  season 
of  refreshing  once  in  about  seven  years.  For  its  very  existence  and  pros- 
perity the  Church  has  been  dependent  on  revivals  of  religion  ;  a  remarkable 
one  occurred  in  1858,  100  making  a  profession.  Various  forms  of  error,  at- 
tempted to  be  introduced,  have  all  failed.  No  individual  for  50  years  has  been 
publicly  arraigned  for  trial  before  the  Church,  but  private  admonition  has 
uniformly  reclaimed  the  wandering.  Mr.  McLean  had  been  for  eleven  years 
before  his  50th  anniversary  totally  blind,  after  two  years  of  impaired  vision. 
See  his  Half  Century  Discourse,  1859. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Charles  B.  McLean,  Amos  A.  Phelps,}  John  W. 
Adams,  D.  D.§ 

*Sp.  An.  1.  116.  Allen.  fSp.  An.  2.  229.  Allen.  J  Mendon  As.  184.  Allen. 
§  Sp.  An.  4, 688. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOMERS,  (FORMERLY  EAST  ENFIELD,)  ORG.  MARCH  15,  1727. 
Samuel  Allis,  Mar.     1727  1747  Dec.     1796 

Freegrace  Leavitt,  July,    1748  1761 

Charles  Backus,  D.  D.*  Aug.     1774  Dec.    1803 

William  L.  Strong,  April,  1805  July,   1829 

Rodney  G.  Dennis,  June,  1830  June,  1839 

James  P.  Terry,  Dec.     1839  Aug.    1845 

Joseph  Vaill,  D.  D.,  Aug.     1845  Dec.     1854 

George  A.  Oviatt,  Dec.     1855 

This  church  has  been  blessed  with  many  interesting  revivals  of  religion — 
three  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Allis  ;  and  adding  under  the  ministry  of 


History  of  the  Churches.  477 

Dr.  Backus  and  his  successors,  severally,  280,  296,  143,  52,  and  106.  Me- 
moir of  Dr.  Xettleton,  159 ;  Ev.  Mug.  \.  19  ;  Rel.  Intel.  7.  170  ;  8.  60. 
The  Society  was  at  first  called  East  Enfield.  Its  remoteness  from  the  First 
Church  (eight  miles)  led  to  the  formation  of  the  church,  which  was  with  nine 
members,  ail  males, — the  inhabitants  being  then  less  than  200.  Mr. 
Allis,  born  at  Hatfield,  Mass.,  studied  divinity  with  Mr.  Stoddard  of  North- 
ampton ;  he  published  an  account  of  the  revival  of  1740-41,  in  Gillie's  Hist. 
Coll.  Mr.  Leavitt,  born  in  Suffield,  was  a  superior  scholar,  and  a  strong,  ear- 
nest, and  faithful  preacher,  and  died  greatly  lamented.  Dr.  Backus  kept  "a 
school  of  the  prophets."  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Leavitt,  the  church  was 
without  a  pastor  thirteen  years,  and  became  divided  by  the  Separates,  four 
or  five  years  before  the  settlement  of  Dr.  Backus,  under  whom  both  branches 
united  in  great  harmony.  The  first  meeting-house  was  built  in  1739;  the 
second  in  1787  ;  the  third  in  1842. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Alonzo  B.  Chapin,  D.  D.,  (Ep.)  Reuben  Chapin, 
Levi  Collins,  William  H.  Thompson,  Seth  Chapin,  (Ep.)  Giles  Pease,  Free- 
grace  Reynolds,t  Anson  Sheldon,  Epaphras  Kibbe,  (Meth.)  Silas  Billings, 
Luke  Wood,  Abiel  Jones,  Gideon  Clark,  Rollin  Porter. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  61.     Allen,     t  Cong.  Y.  Book,  2.  100. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTH  BRITAIN,  IN  SOUTHBURY,  OBG.  1769. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

IcJidbod  Lewis,  Nov.     1767 

Samuel  Camp,  Dec.     1766 

Jehu  Minor,  April,  1768  1790 

Benjamin  Wooster,  May,    1794 

Ebenezer  Porter,  D.  D.,  Aug.     1795  April,  1834 

LatJirop  Thompson,  May,    1796  1798 

Matthias  Cazier,  Aug.    1799  Jan.    1804 

Thaddeus  Osgood,  1807  1808 

Bennet  Tyler,  D.  D.,  June,  1808  Mar.    1822  May,   1858 

Noah  Smith,*  Oct.      1822  Oct.     1830 

Seth  Sackett,  May,     1831  1832 

Darius  Mead,  Feb.     1832  July,    1834 

Seth  Sackett,  Aug.    1834  1835 

Benoni  Y.  Messenger,  Sept.    1835  June,  1837 

Oliver  B.  Butterfield,*  June,   1837  Nov.    1849 

"\VilliamT.Bacon,  Jan.      1850  1851? 

Amos  E.  Lawrence,  Dec.     1851  July,  1860 

The  church  in  South  Britain  came  oft'  from  the  church  in  Southbury, 
about  the  year  1769,  and  were  allowed  what  was  called  winter  privileges. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  General  Association's  Com- 
mittee in  regard  to  the  matter,  and  a  rate  bill  allowed  for  the  payment  of 
the  minister,  and  other  expenses.  In  1807,  a  fund  of  $7,000  was  raised  by 
subscription  for  a  permanent  fund ;  but  they  realized  the  truth,  that  riches 
take  to  themselves  wings  and  fly  away, — and  the  wisdom  of  having  every 


478  History  of  the  Churches. 

generation  support  the  institutions  of  the  gospel  for  itself ;  for  they  lost 
$4,500  of  the  fund  by  the  failure  of  the  Eagle  Bank  of  New  Haven.  The 
sale  of  the  slips,  and  the  balance  of  the  fund,  support  them  now.  Dr.  Net- 
tleton  labored  here  in  a  revival  in  1812.  See  his  Memoir,  p.  63. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — George  E.  Pierce,  Asa  Bennet,  Cyrus  Downs. 
*  Litchf.   Centen.   117. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTHBURY.  ORG.  1732. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Graham,*  1732  Dec.    1774 

Benjamin  Wildman,t  1766  1812 

Elijah  Wood,  1813  1815 

Daniel  A.  Clark,}  1816  1819  Mar.    1840 

Thomas  L.  Shipman,  1826  1836 

William  H.  Whittemore,  1836  1850 

George  P.  Prudden,  1852  1856 

Jason  Atwater,  1856  July,  1859  April,  1860 

A.  R  Smith,  Jan.    1860 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1732  ;  the  second  in  1772  ;  the 
third  and  present  house  in  1844.  The  years  of  the  largest  accessions  to 
this  church  were  1813,  1821,  1831,  and  1842. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — John  W.  Beecher. 

*Sp.  An.  1.314.    Allen.    Litchf.  Centen.   75-7.    t  Litchf.  Centen.  75-7    ISp.  An. 
4.  460.    Litchf.  Centen.  119. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTH  GLASTENBURY,  ORG.  DEC.  22,  1836. 
Warren  G.  Jones,  July,    1837  Aug.    1850 

Frederick  W.  Chapman,         Oct.      1850  Oct.    1854 

Lewis  Jesup,  Dec.     1854  April,  1856 

John  A.  Seymour,  Oct.      1857 

This  church  and  that  in  the  north  part  of  the  town  were  originally 
one.  The  house  of  worship  stood  midway  between  the  two  villages.  In 
the  course  of  time,  this  arrangement  was  found  inconvenient.  Each  part  of 
the  town  needed  a  church  of  its  own.  The  division  was  effected  in  a  happy 
way.  Harmony  was  undisturbed,  and  brotherly  love  was  quickened.  This 
part  of  the  town  derived  much  of  its  importance  from  manufacturing  inter- 
ests. Fire  consumed  the  property,  and  scattered  a  large  portion  of  the  in- 
habitants. The  church  and  society  were  much  affected. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTHINGTON,  ORG.  Nov.  19,  1728. 
Jeremiah  Curtiss,  Nov.     1728  1755  Mar.    1795 


History  of  the  Churches.  479 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Benjamin  Chapman,  Mar.     1756  Sept.    1774  June,  1786 

William  Robinson,*  Jan.     1780  April,  1821  .          May,   1825 

David  S.  Ogden,  Oct.      182.1  Sept.    1836 

Elisha  C.  Jones,  June,   1837 

Prior  to  1721,  the  present  town  of  Southington  was  included  within  the 
limits  of  the  town  and  parish  of  Farmington  ;  and  there  its  few  families  at- 
tended upon  religious  worship,  and  paid  their  taxes  for  its  support.  They 
were  called  "The  Farmers,  South  of  the  Town,"  and  sometimes  "The  South- 
ern Farmers."  In  1721,  on  account  of  the  great  inconvenience  of  going  so 
far  on  the  Sabbath,  especially  in  cold  weather,  they  were  allowed  the  priv- 
ilege of  setting  up  a  meeting  among  themselves  a  part  of  the  year ;  and 
their  ecclesiastical  tax,  payable  at  Farmington,  was  abated  to  them,  at  first 
one-third,  and  afterwards  one-half,  on  condition  that  they  should  hire  a  min- 
ister to  preach  among  them  three  months  in  the  winter  season ;  and  in 
1723,  their  petition  was  granted  to  become  a  ministerial  society  by  them- 
selves, on  condition  that  at  their  first  meeting  they  should  fix  upon  a  place 
for  a  meeting-house,  and  should  lay  a  tax  sufficient  to  raise  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  current  money,  which  should  be  carefully  ex- 
pended in  building  it.  The  society  was  incorporated  in  1724.  The  first 
meeting-house  was  built  about  the  year  1726  ;  the  second  in  1757;  and  the 
third  in  1830.  The  whole  number  connected  with  the  church  (there  being 
no  record  from  1756  to  1780,)  is  1535.  The  church  has  been  blessed  from 
time  to  time  with  revivals  of  religion.  The  years  most  distinguished  for 
these  seasons  were  1831,  when  68  were  added  to  the  church  ;  in  1834,  136  ; 
in  1838,  128;  and  1858,  80.  ltd.  Intel.  18.  713.  The  church  and  soci- 
ety have  generally  been  very  harmonious  and  united,  no  difficulty  having 
ever  arisen  that  called  for  the  interposition  of  a  Council  or  Consociation. 
The  Confession  of  Faith,  and  the  Church  Covenant,  now  used  by  the  church, 
are  essentially  the  same  that  were  adopted  in  1779,  about  the  commence- 
ment of  Mr.  Robinson's  ministry,  and,  in  sentiment,  are  highly  Calvin- 
istic. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jeremiah  Curtiss,  Samuel  Newell,  Levi  Lankton, 
Levi  Hart,  D.  D.,  Whitfield  Cowles,  Gad  Newell, t  Josiah  B.  Andrews,  Pitkin 
Cowles,  Elisha  D.  Andrews,  Fosdick  Harrison,  Edward  Robinson,  D.  D.,  Jer- 
emiah R.  Barnes,  Henry  Clark. 

*Sp.  An.  2.  131.  Allen.  Memoir  by  his  son,  Prof.  Edward  Robinson,  D.  D. 
t  Cong.  Qu.  1.  314. 


THE  CHURCH  is  SOUTH  KILLINGLY,  ORG.  1746 

Samuel  Wadsworth,  June,   1747  1762 

Eliphalet  Wright,  May     1765  784 

Israel  Day,  June,  1785  May,    1826  Dec.    1831 

JoJinN.   Whipple,  1831  1834 

George  Langdon,  1842  1844 


480  History  of  the  Churches- 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Israel  C.  Day,  1846  1848 

Joseph  Ayer,  Mar.  1849,  inst  Jan.   1851  Mar.    1856 

This  was  originally  a  Separate  church,  and  after  a  few  years,  returned  to 
the  faith  and  practice  of  the  churches  from  which  it  separated.  The  church 
has  been  blessed  with  revivals.  In  1776-7,  there  was  one  which  brought 
about  50  into  the  church  ;  in  1788,  about  49  ;  in  1SOO,  64;  and  in  1832, 
40.  Er>.  Mag.  3.  225.  It  has  long  been  feeble,  depending  on  Home  Mis- 
sionary aid,  and  is  now  virtually  extinct. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joshua  Spalding,  Daniel  G.  Sprague. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTH  NORWALK,  ORG.  JAN.  3,  1836. 
James  Knox,  1836  April,  1839 

John  B.  Shaw,  1839  1841 

Francis  C.  Woodworth,  Feb.     1842  Feb.    1844  1859 

Z.  K.  Hawley,  April,  ]844  May,    1848 

Sylvanus  Haight,  July,    1848  Sept.   1851 

D.  R.  Austin,  Oct.  1851,  inst.  May,     1853 

The  church  originally  consisted  of  sixty -four  members,  dismissed  from  the 
First  Church,  and  was  called  the  Second  Church  in  Norwalk,  till  1852.  Pub- 
lic worship  and  a  Sabbath  school  were  commenced  Feb.  14th,  and  the  house 
of  worship  opened  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  March,  1836. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTHPORT,  IN  FAIRFIELD,  ORG.  MARCH  7,  1843. 
S.  J.  M.  Merwin,  Dec.     1844  May,    1859 

Charles  E.  Linsley,  Feb.     1860 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTH  WINDSOR,  ORG.  1690. 

Timothy  Edwards,*  March,  1695  Jan.       1758 

Joseph  Perry,*  April,     1755  April,    1783 

David  McClure,  D.  D.,t         June,     1786  June,    1820 

Thomas  Robbins,  D.  D.,J  1808  1827  1857 

Samuel  Whelply,  April,    1828  Dec.       1830 

Chauncey  G.  Lee,  Aug.      1832  1836 

Levi  Smith,  May,     1840  1849  1852 

Edward  W.  Hooker,  D.  D.,  1849  1856 

J.  B.  Stoddard,  1856 

South  Windsor  is  a  part  of  the  former  town  of  East  Windsor. 

The  first  settlers  of  East  Windsor  came  from  Windsor,  and  for  many 
years  attended  public  worship  on  the  West  side  of  the  river,  and  belonged 
to  the  Church  and  congregation  there.  But  finding  it  inconvenient  to  cross 
the  river,  and  being  grown  sufficiently  numerous  and  able  to  support  public 
worship  among  themselves,  they  proceeded  to  build  a  meeting-house,  which 


History  of  the  Churches.  481 

stood  near  the  north  burying  yard,  and  invited  Mr.  Timothy  Edwards,  son 
of  Richard  Edwards,  Esq.,  of  Hartford,  to  preach  to  them,  who  was  ordained 
in  March,  1  <>'.'•").  He  studied  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Glover,  of  Springfield;  and 
received  the  degrees  of  Bachelor  and  Master  of  Arts  in  one  day  at  the  Col- 
lege in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  which  was  an  uncommon  mark  of  respect 
paid  to  his  extraordinary  proficiency  in  learning.  He  married  the  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  Solomon  Stoddard,  of  Northampton,  Mass.,  who  was  a  divine  of 
eminence  in  his  day.  By  her  he  had  ten  daughters  and  one  son — the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Edwards,  President  of  New  Jersey  College,  whose  writings  rank 
him  high  among  the  first  geniuses  and  divines  of  that  or  any  other  age. 

The  second  meeting  house  was  built  in  1709,  near  the  north  burying 
yard.  The  third  meeting  house  was  built  in  1761  ;  and  in  1804,  ground 
was  purchased  near  it  for  a  burying  place.  This  building  was  taken  down 
in  1845,  and  a  new  one  erected  on  nearly  the  same  ground. 

This  Church  early  adopted  the  Cambridge  Platform  of  Church  govern- 
ment and  worship,  and  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith ;  as  the  Church 
in  \Vest  Windsor,  from  which  they  originated,  had  also  done  ;  but  has  ever 
united  in  associations  and  ecclesiastical  councils,  with  the  neighboring 
churches,  who  are  generally  settled  on  what  is  called  the  Saybrook  Platform. 

South  Windsor  partook,  with  the  neighboring  towns  and  churches,  in  the 
great  and  general  revival  of  religion  through  New  England  and  America,  in 
the  years  1741-2. 

The  practice  of  admitting  persons  into  the  Church  on  what  was  called  the 
half-way-covenant  plan,  continued  here  until  March  27,  1808,  when  it  was 
quietly  abolished.  A  relation  of  Christian  experience  was  required  of  all 
candidates  for  full  communion,  from  an  early  period. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jonathan  Edwards,  Pres.  of  New  Jersey  College, 
Julius  Read,  Amasa  Loomis,  Samuel  Wolcott. 

*Sp.  An.  1,230.     Allen,     t  Sp.  An.  2,  7.     Allen.     %  Allen. 


THE  SECOND  CHLKCU  IN  SOUTH  WINDSOR,  ORG.  FEB.  2,  1830. 

MIXISTEKS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Henry  Morris,  July,    1826  July,     1829 

Dnri<l  L.  Hunn,  July,    1832  May,     1835 

Marvin  Root,  July,    1835  April,    1840 

Amjiistus  Pomeroy,  1840  1841 

0.  F.  Parker,  Jan.  '43,  ord.  Jan.         1844  Oct.       1848 

William  Wright,  Aug.      1854 

The  inhabitants  within  the  limits  of  this  Society  formerly  worshiped  with 
the  First  Church  of  South  Windsor,  originally  East  Windsor.  This  portion 
of  the  town  was  settled  about  the  year  1700.  In  1826,  the  people  concluded 
that  it  was  best  to  secure  religious  privileges  among  themselves,  when  Rev. 
Mr.  Brinsmadeof  the  "Asylum,'  Hartford,  labored  here  six  months,  and  sev- 
eral others  for  short  periods  after,  till  1829.  By  Mr.  Brinsmade's  labors 

62 


482  History  of  the.  Churches. 

about  20  indulged  hope  ;  28  at  first  composed  the  Church  ;  in  August,  1831, 
a  protracted  meeting  resulted  in  about  50  hopeful  converts ;  and  good  num- 
bers were  added  at  other  times.  Pres.  Tyler  and  others  from  the  Seminary 
supplied  for  some  years  before  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Wright.  The  members 
of  the  Church  and  Society  gave  him  $1000,  on  condition  that  he  would  not 
seek  and  obtain  a  dismission  in  ten  years.  The  congregation  is  more  than  a 
quarter  larger  than  formerly ;  all  pertaining  to  it  is  seemingly  prosperous 
by  the  Divine  blessing ;  and  the  effect  of  the  permanency  given  to  the  min- 
istry by  the  terms  of  settlement  is  eminently  desirable. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  STAFFORD,  (EAST,)  ORG.  MAY  22,  1723. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED,  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Graham,  *  May,      1723  1731         Dec.      1774 

Seih  Payne,  June,     1734  July,     1740 

Eli  Colton,  Sept.      1744  June,     1756 

John  Willard,  D.  D.,t  March,  1757  Feb.      1807 

Cyrus  W.  Gray,  July,     1817  Aug.     1821 

Hervey  Smith,  .    Oct.       1822  1830 

Moses  B.  Church,  Aug.      1831  Feb.      1837 

George  H.  Woodward,  Jan.      1840  April,    1850 

Allen  Clark,  March,  1851  March,  1852 

Merrick  Knight,  1853  1854 

Mr.  Gardner,  1854  1855 

Joseph  Knight,  May,      1855 

This  Church  has  passed  through  seasons  of  prosperity  and  adversity. 
Universal  ism  has  done  much  mischief.  The  apostasy  of  their  pastor  Moses 
B.  Church,  was  a  source  of  much  affliction.  The  Church  is  but  a  feeble 
band,  two  churches,  at  Stafford  Springs  and  Stafford ville,  having  colonized 
from  it,  but  the  aid  of  funds  renders  it  independent  of  foreign  aid  in  the  sup- 
port of  the  gospel. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Graham,  Jr.,  Joseph  Blodgett,  Elisha  Al- 
den. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  314.    Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  2,  30.     Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  STAFFORD  SPRINGS,  OHG.  DEC.  10,  1850. 
George  H.  Woodward,  1850  1851 

Hiram  Day,  April,  1851  May,  1856 

Alexis  W.  Ide,  July,  1859 

The  Society  was  formed  in  March,  1850,  and  Mr.  Woodward,  who  helped 
to  commence  the  enterprise  was  obliged  to  abandon  it  in  a  few  months 
through  ill  health.  The  old  Society,  two  miles  distant,  contemplated 
moving  their  place  of  worship,  to  accommodate  the  growing  population  at 


History  of  the  Churches.  483 

the  "  Springs,"  but  a  Council  thought  it  more  advisable  to  form  a  new  church. 
It  was  thought  wise  to  build  a  house  of  worship  large  enough  for  prospec- 
tive growth  in  the  village ;  but  this  led  to  the  contracting  of  a  debt  of  $4000, 
more  than  half  the  cost ;  and  death,  losses  and  other  circumstances  taking 
away  some  who  were  willing  to  help,  the  burdens  came  on  a  few. 
But  the  debt  was  cancelled  in  1858,  and  every  encouragement  for  future 
prosperity  now  appears,  in  enlarged  Congregations,  Sabbath  School,  and  do- 
nations for  benevolence. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  STAFFORDVILLE,  OKG.  DEC.  1853. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Allen  Claris  April,  1852  Oct.      1852            Dec.    1852 

John  M.  Franci*,  Oct.      1852  April,  1853 

George  W.  Connitt.  1853                        1854 

Charles  Hyde,  Jan.      1855  April,  185  6 

Hiram  Day,  1859 

House  of  worship,  40  by  54,  erected  in  1859,  cost  $4000.  The  church  has 
been  supplied  when  destitute  of  a  resident  minister,  from  East  Windsor 
Seminary. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  STAMFORD,  ORG.  MAY,  1641. 

Richard  Denton,*  May,     1641?  1643?  1663? 

John  Bishop,  1644  1694 

Mr.  Jones,  1672  1676 

John  Davenport,  1694  Feb.     1731 

Ebenezer  Wright,  May,      1732  May,   1746 

Noah  Welles,  D.  D.,t  Dec.       1746  Dec.    1776 

JohnS.  Avery,  Jan.      1779  Sept   1791 

Daniel  Smith, J  June,    1793  June,  1846 

John  W.  Alvord,  March,  1842  Oct.       1846 

Isaac  Jennings,  Sept.    1847  April,    1853 

James  Hoyt,  June,    1853  Jan.      1855 

Henry  B.  Elliot,  Dec.      1855  July,     1858 

Joseph  Anderson,  March,  1860 

The  Church  in  Wethersfield  fell  into  unhappy  contentions  and  animosi- 
ties, and  the  minority,  30  or  40  families,  removed  to  Stamford  in  1641,  with 
their  minister,  of  whom  Cotton  Mather  speaks  in  high  terms.  Mr.  Denton 
from  Wethersfield,  went  to  Hempstead,  L.  I.  Two  brethren  took  a  journey 
on  foot,  nearly  to  Boston,  through  the  wilderness,  to  find  Mr.  Bishop,  of 
whom  they  had  heard,  and  were  well  repaid  for  their  trouble,  for  he  was 
long  their  faithful  pastor.  Mr.  Davenport  was  the  only  son  of  the  only  son 
of  Rev.  John  Davenport  of  New  Haven.  The  records  are  fruitful  of  votes  to 


484  Hisiory  of  the  Churches. 

prepare  a  parsonage  as  a  gift  to  him,  and  making  grants  of  land,  firewood,  &c., 
during  his  ministry.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Synod  of  Saybrook  in  1708, 
(p.  11;)  and  was  held  in  high  estimation  for  his  piety  and  learning,  and  exer- 
cised a  wide  influence  among  the  Churches.  Mr.  Wright  is  said  to  have  been 
a  powerful  preacher.  Dr.  Welles  was  considered  one  of  the  most  eminent 
scholars  of  his  day,  and  was  untiring  in  his  zeal  as  a  pastor.  For  years  after 
his  death,  the  country  was  in  such  an  unsettled  state  that  it  was  impossible 
to  procure  a  pastoi',  and  they  had  only  temporary  supplies. 

The  first  meeting  house,  built  in  1642,  soon  proved  unfit  for  use,  but 
not  till  1672,  after  about  30  years  discussion,  did  it  yield  to  the  second,  the 
form  of  which  was  decided  by  lot,  and  stood  till  1790.  The  present  house 
was  built  in  1858. 

The  external  history  of  the  Church  is  a  record  of  long  continued  peace 
and  prosperity.  It  has  at  six  different  times  parted  with  members  who 
have  withdrawn  to  form  new  Churches,  some  of  which  have  become  large 
and  flourishing.  It  has  at  various  times  been  greatly  revived  and  blessed  by 
large  accessions  of  converts.  Some  of  the  most  noted  revivalists,  George 
Whitfield  among  them,  have  labored  among  the  people  with  great  success. 
,  *  Mather's  Magnalia,  1,  360.  t  Sp.  An.  1,  461.  Allen.  \  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  STANWICH,  IN  GREENWICH,  ORG.  JUNE  17,  1735. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Benjamin  Strong,  June,  1735  March,  1763 

William  Seward,  Feb.     1774  Feb.      1794 

Jonathan  Edwards,  D.  D.,  1795 

Platt  Buffett,  May,    1796  June,     1835  May,  1850 

Daniel  B.  Butts,  Oct.      1839  Dec.       1842      •  1851 

Alonzo  B.  Rich,  April,  1848  Nov.      1852 

Henry  G.  Jessup,  April,  1854 

Records  burnt  with  the  house  of  Mr.  Buffett  in  1821.  Like  many  of  the 
pastors  of  his  day,  Mr.  BufFett  was  for  many  years  an  instructor  of  the 
young,  and  among  his  pupils  were  not  a  few  who  became  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  missionaries,  or  filled  offices  of  trust  and  profit. 

During  the  last  30  years,  the  Church  in  Stanwich  has  been  favored  with 
several  powerful  revivals  of  religion.  Those  of  1831,  '39,  '45,  and  '54  added 
very  much  to  its  members,  life  and  strength.  The  last  three  occurred  when 
there  was  no  settled  pastor. 

In  matters  of  reform  this  Church  has  always  been  active,  oftentimes  ta- 
king the  lead  among  her  sister  churches,  and  in  no  case  falling  behind  them. 
In  short,  despite  the  constant  influence  of  emigration  the  gathering  of 
other  churches  in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  comparatively  stationary  charac- 
ter of  all  agricultural  communities,  it  continues  steadily  to  maintain  its  pp.- 
sition  as  to  numbers  and  influence  among  the  older  churches  of  the  Com' 
monwealth. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.—  W.  L.  Buffett,  F.  H.  Ayres,  M.  Palmer,  M.  D.  (f.) 


History  of  the  Churches.  485 

THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  STONINGTON,  ORG.  JUNE  3,  1674. 

MINISTERS.  DISMISSED.  SETTLED.  DIED. 

Mr.  Thompson,  1658 

Mr.  Chaiinc.ey,  1659 

Zechariah  Bridgden,  1660  1663 

Mr.  Fletcher,  1663  1664 

James  Noyes,*     1665,    ord.   Sept.    1674  Dec.     1719 

Ebenezer  Rossiter,  t  Dec.     1722  Oct.     1762 

Nathaniel  Eells,}:  1762  June,  1786 

Hezekiah  N.  Woodruff,§        July,    1789  1803  1833 

Ira  Hart,||  Dec.     1809  Oct.     1829 

Joseph  Whittlesey,  May,     1830  Dec.     1832 

Peter  H.  Shaw,  Jan.      1835  May,    1837 

Nehemiah  B.  Cook,  Mar.     1838  May,   1859 

Pliny  F.  Warner,  Jan.      1860 

Mr.  Blinman,  minister  at  New  London,  preached  here  a  part  of  the  time 
between  1648  and  1658,  and  received  from  this  people  a  part  of  his  sup- 
port. Mr.  Noyes  was  the  moderator  of  the  Synod  that  formed  the  Saybrook 
Platform  in  1708,  p.  7.  The  East  Society  was  formed  from  this  in  1733. 
Within  the  last  twenty-five  years,  three  Congregational  churches  have  been 
organized  in  this  town,  two  of  which  were  composed,  at  their  organization, 
almost  entirely  of  members  belonging  to  the  First  Church  ;  and  it  furnished 
at  its  commencement,  a  substantial  part  of  the  strength  of  the  other.  Ad- 
missions to  the  church  from  the  beginning,  to  Aug.  1858,  1037. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Asa  Burton,  D.  D.,1T  Joseph  Noyes,  Jonathan 
Copp,  B.  F.  Stanton,**  Roswell  Swan,  Dudley  Rossiter,  Zabdiel  Rogers, 
Clark  Brown,  Hezekiah  Woodruff,  Nathaniel  Miner,  Amos  S.  Chesebrough, 
Joshua  B.  Brown,  Gurdon  W.  Noyes. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  234.  Allen,  t  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  1.  862.  Allen.  §Sp.  An.  2.  485. 
Allen.  I  Eel.  Intel.  14.  460.  Allen.  TfAm.  Qu.  Keg.  10.  321.  Sp.  An.  2.  140. 
**  Sp.  An.  4.  524. 


The  Church  in  the  East  Society,  in  Stoiiington,  Org.  1733. 
Nathaniel  Eells,  1733  1762 

During  Mr.  Rossiter's  pastorate  in  the  First  Church,  a  part  of  the  people 
left,  formed  the  East  Society,  erected  a  house  of  worship,  and  settled  Mr. 
Eells  as  their  pastor.  At  the  death  of  Mr.  Rossiter  in  1762,  Mr.  Eells  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  his  society  gave  up  their  separate  worship  and  united  with 
the  First  Society. 


THE  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  STONINGTON,  ORG.  Nov.  14,  1833. 

John  C.  Nichols,  May,    1834  April,  1839 

J.  Erskine  Edwards,  April,  1840  April,  1843 

William  Clift,  Dec.     1844 


486  History  of  the  Churches. 

This  church  enterprise  was  projected  by  members  of  the  First  Church  re- 
siding at  Stonington  Borough,  where  meetings  had  been  held  for  half  of  the 
time  for  many  years.  It  was  the  result  of  the  increasing  population  and 
wealth  of  the  place.  Eighteen  hundred  dollars  of  the  fund  of  the  first  par- 
ish were  given  to  the  new  society,  and  their  present  house  of  worship  was 
immediately  erected.  The  parish  expenses  are  paid  by  the  annual  sale  ot 
slips.  A  noticeable  feature  in  these  expenses  is  one  hundred  dollars,  annu- 
ally, devoted  to  a  pastor's  library.  The  church  has  been  blest  with  frequent 
revivals  of  religion,  and  more  than  one-third  of  the  population  are  now 
members. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  STRATFORD,  ORG.  1640. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Adam  Blackman,*  1640  1565 

Israel  Chauncey.t  1665?  Mar.    1703 

Zechariah  Walker,!  1667?  1674  Jan.    1700 

Timothy  Cutler,  D.  D.,§  1709  1719  Aug.    1765 

Hezekiah  GoldJ  1720  July,  1752  May,    1790 

Izrahiah  Wetmore,!  May,     1753  1780  1798 

Stephen  W.  Stebbins,**  1784  Aug.    1813  1843 

Matthew  R.  Dutton,tt  Sept.    1814  Oct.     1822  July,  1825 

Joshua  Leavitt,  D.  D.,  Feb.     1825  1828 

Thomas  Robbins,  D.  D.,J{        Feb-     183<>  Sept.    1831  1857 

Frederick  W.  Chapman,         Sept    1832  April,  1839 

William  B.  Weed,  Dec.     1839  May,    1855 

Joseph  R.  Page,  Feb.     1857  Sept.    1858 

Benjamin  L.  Swan,  Oct.     1858 

Mr.  Chauncey  was  the  youngest  son  of  President  Chauncey,  of  Harvard, 
born  in  Scituate,  Mass.,  in  1644,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1661.  With 
his  profession  as  a  clergyman,  he  united  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  had  a 
high  reputation  for  medical  skill,  as  well  as  pastoral  fidelity.  Mr.  Cutler 
was  the  second  President  of  Yale  College  ;  he  became  an  Episcopalian,  and 
was  dismissed  from  his  office.  Trumbull,  2.  32-4. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Benjamin  Blackman,^  Hezekiah  Gold,  Jr.,  Chas. 
Chauncey, §§  Nathan  Birdseye,  Isaac  Chauncey,  |JU 

*  Allen.  tSp.  An.  1.  114.  Allen.  J  Allen.  §  Allen.  I  Allen,  "i  Allen.  **Sp. 
An.  1.439.  Allen,  ft  Sp.  An.  2.  592.  Allen.  ^Alleu.  §§  Sp.  An.  1.  114.  [||Sp. 
An.  1.  114. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SDFFIELD,  ORG.  APRIL  26,   1698. 

John  Younglove,  1680  June,  1690 

George  Philips,  1690  1692 

Nathaniel  Clapp,  1693  1695 


History  of  the  Churches.  487 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Benjamin  Ruggles,  July,  1695,  inst  April,  1698  Sept   1708 

Ebenezer  Devotion,*  June,  1710  April,  1741 

Ebenezer  Gay,  D.  D.,t  Jan.     1742  Mar.    1796 

Ebenezer  Gay,  Jr.t*  Mar.     1793  Jan.    1837 

Joel  Mann,  Dec.     1826  Dec.     1829 

Henry  Robinson,  June,  1831  April,  1837 

Asahel  C.  Washburn,  Jan.     1838  July,   1851 

John  R.  Miller,  Dec.     1853 

The  grant  for  the  settlement  of  this  town  from  the  General  Court  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony,  in  1670,  required  the  inaintainance  of  a  gospel  min- 
istry here  ;  and  early  measures  were  taken  for  that  purpose.  Owing  to  the 
disturbance  occasioned  by  the  Indian  war  of  1675,  known  by  the  name  of 
Philip's  War,  the  proprietors  were  unable  to  carry  this  provision  into  ef- 
fect until  1680,  when  Mr.  John  Younglove  came  among  them  in  the  min- 
istry, and  continued  till  his  decease.  None  of  Mr.  Ruggles'  predecessors 
were  ordained  here.  The  doings  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  Hamp- 
shire County,  Massachusetts,  and  the  records  of  this  town,  show  that  a 
council  of  ministers  was  called  April  26,  1698,  (May  7,  N.  S.,)  to  consider 
upon  and  advise  with  respect  to  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Ruggles  in  the  min- 
istry here  ;  and  other  circumstances,  notices  and  facts  point  to  that  as  the 
period  when  the  First  Church  in  Suffield  was  organized,  and  Rev.  Benja- 
min Ruggles  ordained  its  pastor.  Mr.  Devotion  was  pastor  nearly  thirty-one 
years,  and  received  into  the  church  334  members.  Of  him  it  is  inscribed, — 
"  He  was  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  great  stability  of  mind,  and  singular 
modesty  and  humanity,  a  true  friend  and  faithful  minister,  steady  in  his  at- 
tendance upon  the  altar,  close  and  pungent  in  his  preaching,  and  very  exem- 
plary in  his  life,  a  pattern  of  industry  and  resignation,  and  of  all  Christian 
graces."  During  the  nine  months  after  his  decease,  176  individuals  were  ad- 
mitted to  the  communion  of  the  church — 97  by  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards,  of 
Northampton,  and  79  by  Rev.  Peter  Reynolds,  of  Enfield.  Within  a  year 
of  his  decease,  207  were  received.  In  1747,  a  number  withdrew  from  the 
church,  and  formed  a  Separate  church,  a  part  of  whom  were  ultimately 
formed  into  the  Baptist  Church.  The  third  pastor  received  into  the  church 
167  members;  the  4th,  138;  5th,  25;  6th,^25  ;  7th,  211;  and  the  8th,  in 
five  years,  109,  65  of  them  in  1858. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Trumbull,  Benjamin  Pomeroy,  Jonathan 
Leavitt,^  John  Devotion,  Cotton  Mather  Smith,  Aratus  Kent,  Francis  E. 
Butler,  Seth  Williston,  D.  D.§  Ebenezer  Devotion,  Elisha  Kent,  Ebenezer 
Gay,  Jr.,  Arthur  Granger. 

*  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1.  537.    Allen    ;  Mendon.  As.  197.    §  Sp.  An.  4.  140. 


The  Church  in  Tariffville,  Org.  Oct.  29,  1832. 
William  Parsons,  1841  1842 

Cahin  Terry,  1842  1843 


488  History  of  the  Churches. 

It  is  thought  that  this  Church  never  had  a  pastor.  It  is  set  down  as  "  va- 
cant "  in  the  minutes,  except  as  above.  It  received  aid  from  the  Home 
Missionary  Society  the  most  of  the  time  from  1833  to  1845.  It  was  com- 
posed to  a  considerable  extent  of  members  trained  in  Scotch  Presbyterian- 
ism,  and  their  influence  availed  to  change  its  order.  The  last  of  its  records 
is  dated  May,  1845,  a  Presbyterian  Church  having  been  organized  in  Octo- 
ber previous,  which  in  its  turn,  after  seven  years  pastorate,  (though  yet  nom- 
inally alive,)  gave  place  to  an  Episcopal  Church. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  TERRYVILLE,  IN  PLYMOUTH,  ORG.  JAN.  1838. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Nathaniel  Richardson,  Aug.     1838  July,  1840 

Merrill  Richardson,  Oct.      1841  July,   1846 

Judson  A.  Root,  Oct.      1846  April,  1847 

Merrill  Richardson,  May,    1849  Jan.     1858 

John  Monteith,  Jr.,  Oct.      1858  1860 

Its  original  members  numbered  forty-nine  persons,  dismissed  by  letter 
from  the  Congregational  church  in  Plymouth.  The  congregation  is  for  the 
most  part  composed  of  manufacturers  and  mechanics.  It  meets  in  a  neat 
and  comfortable  edifice,  which  seats  about  500  persons.  Sixty-four  mem- 
bers were  added  by  profession  in  the  spring  of  1858. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Edwin  Johnson. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THOMPSON,  (FORMERLY  KILLINGLY  2D,)  ORG.  JAN.  38,  1730. 
Marston  Cabot,  Feb.     1730  Apr,    1756 

Noadiah  Russell,*  Nov.    1757  Oct.     1795 

Daniel  Dow,t  D.  D.,  April,  1796  July,  1849 

Andrew  Dunning,  May,    1850 

This  church  is  a  colony  of  what  was  "  the  First  Church  in  Killingly,"- 
now  "  the  First  Church  in  Putnam."  Its  history  has  not  been  marked  by 
any  striking  changes,  whether  adverse  or  prosperous.  In  common  with 
most  churches  at  that  early  day,  it  had  to  struggle  through  an  infancy  of 
weakness  and  poverty.  But  its  early  members  trusted  in  God,  and  so  were 
helped.  Under  his  care  and  conduct,  its  progress  has  been  steadily  onward. 
The  church  was  organized  with  twenty-seven  members.  The  whole  num- 
ber received  to  its  communion  is  1230,  or  nearly  ten  per  year.  It  has  never 
dismissed  a  pastor.  This  church  has  enjoyed  several  seasons  of  revival, — 
times  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  In  1858,  it  received  a 
precious  portion  of  the  pentecostal  blessings  which  so  richly  descended  up- 
on our  American  Zion.  A  new  house  of  worship,  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
State,  was  erected  in  1856. 


History  of  the  Churches.  489 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Joseph  Russell,  Stephen  Crosby,  Henry  Gleason, 
William  A.  Larned,  Joseph  T.   Holmes,   David  N.  Coburn,  John  Bowers, 
Herbert  A.  Read,  Charles  Thayer,  Joseph  P.  Bixby. 
*  Sp.  An.  2.  287.    t  Sp.  An.  2.  365. 


THE  CHURCH  is  TOLLAND,  ORG.  1717. 

MINISTEKS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Stephen  Steel,*  Feb.     1722  1758 

Nathan  Williams,  D.  D.,          April,  1760  Apr.    1829 

Ansel  Nash,  Jan.     1813  May,    1831 

Abram  Marsh,  Nov.    1831 

Rev.  Stephen  Steel  labored  earnestly  to  promote  the  great  revival  of 
1740,  and  also  to  save  its  character  from  the  excesses  that  damaged  it  in 
other  places.  He  was  an  able  and  faithful  minister.  Dr.  Williams  was  a 
good  minister,  and  a  very  pleasing  man  in  his  manners  and  conversation. 
There  were  revivals  in  1790  and  1800.  Mr.  Nash  was  active,  ready  of 
speech,  and  one  who  used  well  his  gifts  and  knowledge.  There  were  two 
important  revivals  under  his  ministry, — in  1814  and  1822.  In  the  latter, 
Dr.  Nettleton  aided  him.  Additions  in  all  by  the  third  pastor,  265  ;  by  the 
fourth,  212.  Directly  after  Mr.  Nash  was  dismissed,  a  revival  commenced; 
and  at  Mr.  Marsh's  installation,  about  90  were  indulging  hope.  A  general 
revival  in  1857  and  1858,  added  34.  From  1831  to  1857,  three-fifths  of 
all  the  male  members  of  the  church  removed  to  churches  in  other  towns  ; 
and  owing  to  changes  in  business,  the  population  of  the  town  decreased  300. 
Still  the  heart  of  the  church  in  regard  to  the  support  of  the  gospel  beats 
better  than  in  1 831.  Many  a  church  is  receiving  missionary  aid  that  could  not 
be  induced  to  tax  itself  as  this  church  does  for  the  support  of  the  ministry. 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  small,  and  was  never  finished;  the  second 
was  built  in  1784 ;  the  third  in  1838 — a  neat  and  tasteful  structure.  The 
church  has  been  blessed  in  having  only  four  pastors.  It  lives  because  it  has 
a  living  Redeemer. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Stephen  West,  D.  D.,t  Gordon  Hall,  (f.) 
*  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1.  287.    Allen.    \  Sp.  An.  1.  548.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  TORRINGFORD,  IN  TORRINGTON,  ORG.  ABOUT  1759. 
Mr.  lleaton,  1761 

Mr.  Davenport,  (c.)  17G4  ?  1767  ? 

Samuel  J.  Mills,*  June,   1769  May,    1833 

Epaphras  Goodman,  Mar.    1822  Jan.     1836 

Herman  L.  Vaill,  July,    1837  Sept   1839 

Brown  Emerson,  July,    1841  Sept.    1844 

William  H.  Moore,  Sept.    1846  Aug.    1854 


490  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Stephen  Fenn,  Nov.     1854  ,          Sept.    1857 

Charles  Newman,  May,     1858 

In  1755,  the  town  voted  that  their  minister  should  preach  on  the  east  side 
of  the  town  in  proportion  to  the  support  that  the  people  there  afforded.  In 
1759,  four  and  a  half  tiers  of  land  were  set  off  for  an  ecclesiastical  society,  and 
from  that  time  public  worship  was  generally  maintained.  Mr.  Mills  was  a 
godly  man;  and  as  a  preacher,  plain,  simple,  and  highly  interesting.  During 
his  last  years,  he  was  left  quite  dependent ;  yet  he  never  complained.  Every 
mercy  he  recognized  as  "wonderful,  wonderful  goodness."  Mr.  Goodman 
removed  to  Dracut,  Massachusetts,  and  since  has  preached  in  several  places 
at  the  West. 

Torringford  has  shared  largely  in  those  divine  blessings — revivals.  In 
1773,  1793,  and  1799  mercy  drops  and  the  copious  shower  were  granted;  in 
1816,  60  were  added,  and  in  1821,  60  more.  During  Mr.  Goodwin's  minis- 
try, about  100  were  received,  and  different  numbers  at  various  seasons  of 
interest  since.  By  these  divine  visitations,  the  Lord  has  granted  prosperity, 
See  Mr.  McKinistry's  History  of  Torrington.  Ev.  Mag.  1.  27. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jonathan  Miller,  Harvey  Loomis,   Stanley  Gris- 
•wold,  E.  D.  Moore,  Samuel  J.  Mills,  Jr.,  (f.)f  Lucius  Curtis,  Orange  Lyman. 
*  Sp.  An  1.  672.    Litchf.  Centen.  99.    t  Sp.  An.  2.  566.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  TORRINGTON,  ORG.  OCT.  21,  1741. 

Nathaniel  Roberts,*  1741  Mar.    1776 

Noah  Merwin,f  Oct.     1776  Nov.    1783  1795 

Lemuel  Haynes,l  1787  1789  Sept.    1834 

Alexander  Gillett,§  May,    1792  Jan.    1826 

William  R.  Gould,  Feb.  .  1827  Feb.     1832 

Milton  Huxley,  1832  1842 

John  A.  McKinstry,  Oct.      1842  Sept.   1857 

Charles  B.  Dye,  Oct.     1859 

At  the  laying  out  of  the  town  in  1737,  100  acres  of  land  were  reserved  for 
a  minister's  lot.  In  1737,  the  Torringford  Society  laid  a  claim  to  a  portion 
of  this  land,  and  ultimately  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  it  was  granted 
them.  Mr.  Roberts  was  one  of  the  fourteen  ministers  present  at  the  institu- 
tion of  the  original  Consociation  of  Litchfield  County,  in  1752.  He  was  an 
eccentric  man,  characterized  by  honesty,  sincerity,  and  a  humor  peculiarly 
his  own.  Mr.  Haynes  was  a  colored  man,  of  great  shrewdness  and  wit,  and 
was  a  useful  minister  of  white  congregations  about  fifty  years  ;  he  died  in 
Granville,  N.  Y.  Torrington  has  been  the  theater  of  frequent  and  precious 
revivals,  70  being  added  as  the  fruits  in  each  of  the  years,  1799  and  1816, 
with  goodly  numbers  at  other  times.  Dr.  Nettleton's  Memoir,  89.  Ev. 
Mag.  1.  131. 


History  of  the  Churches.  491 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Timothy  P.  Gillett,  James  Beach,  Luther  Hart, 
Abel  K.  HinsdaleJ  (f.) 

*Sp.  An.  1.  410.    Allen.    Litchf.  Centen.  79,  82.    *Sp.  An.  2.  351.    Allen.     JSp. 
An.  2.  176.    Allen     \  Sp.  An.  2,  68.    Allen.    Litchf.  Centen.  79,  80.     |  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  TRUMBCLL,   (FORMERLY  UNITY,  IN  NORTH  STRATFORD,)  ORO. 

Nov.  18,  1730. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Richardson  Miner,  1730            Mar.    1744 

James  Beebe,  May,    1747                                           Sept  1785 

Izrahiah  Wetmore,*  1785                                           Aug.    1798 

John  Giles,!  May,    1802 

Daniel  C.  Banks,  Aug.    1807 

Reuben  Taylor,  Sept.    1817 

James  Kent.*  Nov.     1825 

Wlliam  T.  Bacon,  Dec.    1842 

John  L.  Whittlesey,  Oct.     1844 

David  M.  Elwood,  Feb.     1850            June,  1853 

William  T.  Bacon,  Sept.    1853             Sept.   1854 

Ralph  Smith,  Dec.     1854            Dec.    1855 

Stephen  A,  Loper,  June,  1856            June,  1858 

Benjamin  Swallow,  Jan.     1859 
MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Daniel  Brinsmade. 

*  Allen,     f  Sp.  An.  3.  437. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  UNION,  ORG.  DEC.  13,  1738. 

Ebenezer  Wyman,  Dec.      1738  Jan.      1745 

Caleb  Hitchcock,  Jan.      1749  1759 

Ezra  Horton,  June,     1759  June,    1783 

David  Avery,  April,   1797  Aug.     1799  1817 

M.  Chapin,  (Meth.)  1803  1809 

Nehemiah  B.  Beardsley,        April,    1824  April,    1831 

Elliot  Palmer,  Jan.      1832  June,    1833 

Alvan  Underwood,  June,    1833  June,    1834        April,    1858 

Samuel  J.  Curtiss,  Mar.  '40,  inst.  Apr.  '42 

Mr.  Hitchcock  was  deposed  for  intemperance.  The  Church  has  been  43 
years  out  of  121,  destitute  of  a  pastor  or  stated  supply.  During  this  time, 
the  ministration  of  the  word  was  only  occasional  and  generally  there  was 
no  preaching  during  the  winter,  no  minister  spending  a  whole  year  with 
the  people.  The  Church  has  long  been  dependent  on  home  missionary  aid. 


492  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  UNIONVILLE,  IN  FARMINGTON,  ORG.  MARCH  30,  1841. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  R.  Keep,  1840  1841 

Richard  Woodruff,  June,    1842  May,      1846 

James  0.  Searl,  Apr.  '47,  inst.  Sept.  1848          April,    1851 
Giles  M.  Porter,  Oct.      1852  Oct.       1856 

Hiram  Slauson,  Dec.      1857  Dec.      1858 

James  A.  Smith,  1859 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  Church,  public  worship  had  been 
maintained  in  a  school  house,  with  a  good  degree  of  regularity,  for  more 
than  ten  years  ;  preaching  by  ministers  of  different  denominations.  Society 
organized  in  1839,  from  which  time  the  ministers  were  Congregational,  and 
missionary  aid  was  granted  till  1852.  Revivals  in  1846  and  1858.  House  of 
worship  built  in  1842,  enlarged  and  remodeled  in  1852. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  VERNON,  (FORMERLY  NORTH  BOLTON,)  ORG.  OCT.  1762. 
Ebenezer  Kellogg,*  Nov.      1762  Sept.     1817 

William  Ely,*  March,  1818  Feb.      1822        Nov.      1850 

Amzi  Benedict,t  June,     1824  Feb.      1830         Nov.      1856 

David  L.  ffunn,  Nov.      1830  March,  1832 

Chester  Humphrey,  Oct.       1832  April,    1843 

Albert  Smith,  May,      1845  Oct.       1854 

Mark  Tucker,  D.  D.,  April,     1857 

The  Society  was  organized  Nov.  1760,  and  called  North  Bolton,  contain- 
ing, probably,  a  little  more  than  400  inhabitants. 

The  Church  formed  with  35  members  from  Bolton  ;  the  number  doubled 
in  seven  years,  and  in  89  years  since  1769,  but  two  years  have  passed  with- 
out additions  being  made  to  the  Church  ;  in  all  971.  It  is  probable  that 
more  than  two-thirds  of  those  here  first  professing  their  faith  in  Christ, 
were  the  children  of  professed  believers. 

The  early  history  of  the  Church  was  not  marked  by  frequent  revivals. 
The  first  pastor,  in  his  half-century  discourse,  preached  in  1812,  notices 
four  "seasons  of  uncommon  awakening ;  in  and  about  the  years  1772, 1782, 
1800,  and  1809."  He  was  blessed  with  a  still  greater  "awakening,"  in  1814- 
15,  when  40  united  with  the  Church  ;  about  80  in  1830-31.  Other  princi- 
pal revivals  in  1819,  '30,  '35,  '41,  '51,  and  '58.  Eel.  Intel.  16,  637. 

Before  1807,  136  were  received  on  the  "half-way  covenant,"  19  of  them 
afterwards  received  to  full  communion.  The  first  meeting  house  was 
erected  in  1762,  (Sabbath  worship  having  been  maintained  at  a  dwelling 
house  a  year  or  two,)  though  without  pews  till  1770,  and  unplastered  till 
1774.  This  was  used  until  the  present  house  of  worship  was  completed  in 
1827. 

Uutil  1852,  the  expenses  of  the  Society  were  provided  for  by  taxation. 
There  are  small  funds  for  sacred  music,  and  the  Sabbath  school  library. 


History  of  the  Churches.  493 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Salmon  King,  Francis  King,  Allen  McLean,  Eb- 
enezer  Kellogg,  Joel  Talcott,  Eliot  Palmer,  Jr.,  Cyril  Pearl,  Lavalette  Per- 
rin,  Martin  Kellogg,  Allyn  S.  Kellogg. 

*  Allen,    t  Cong.  Y.  B.  1857. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  YOLCNTOWN  AND  STERLING,  ORG.  OCT.  15,  1723. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Dorrance,  Dec.     1723  1770        Nov.     1775 

Mk-aiah  Porter,  Nov.    1781  Aug.      1800 

Elijah  G.  Welles,  June,  1811  June,     1812 

Otis  Lane,*  Oct.     1828  Sept     1834        May,      1842 

Jacob  Allen,t  Oct.     1837  Nov.      1849 

Jacob  Allen,  April,  1851  March,  1856 

Charles  L.  Ayer,  Jan.     1859 

For  revivals  and  Dr.  Wheelock's  preaching  at  Voluntown,  see  Tracy's 
Great  Awakening  201.  The  Church  was  originally  Presbyterian:  was  re- 
organized as  Congregational,  Jure  30,  1779.  In  the  year  1794  the  town  of 
Yoluntown  was  divided  and  the  north  part  called  Sterling.  Since  then  the 
Church  has  been  called  the  Congregational  Church  in  the  First  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Society  in  Yoluntown  and  Sterling,  and  the  meeting  house  is  on  the  line 
between  the  towns.  In  1858,  the  Society  erected  a  neat  and  convenient 
meeting  house  at  an  expense  of  $2,500,  with  a  good  bell  and  other  conven- 
iences for  public  worship,  and  in  1859,  a  parsonage.  With  the  settlement 
of  a  pastor  also,  a  new  day  of  hope  seems  to  have  dawned  on  this  old  deso- 
lation. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Gordon  Dorrance.  f 

*  Sp.  An.  2,  243     t  Cong.  Y.  Book,  1857, 1858.    J  Sp.  An.  1,  549.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WALLINOFORD,  ORG.  IN  1675. 

Samuel  Street,*  1675  Jan.      1717 

Samuel  \Yhittlesey,  t  Apr.  1709,  ord.  May,  '10  April,    1752 

James  Dana,  D.  D.,f  Oct.     1758  Feb.       1789        Aug.      1812 

James  NoyesJ  May,   1785  June,    1832         Feb.      1844 

Edwin  R.  Gilbert,  Oct.     1832 

The  first  settlers  of  Wallingford  were  from  New  Haven.  The  town  was 
incorporated  in  1670,  and  embraced  what  are  now  the  towns  of  Wallingford, 
Meriden,  Cheshire,  and  Prospect.  The  Church  was  organized  in  1675.  The 
first  pastor  was  one  of  "  the  undertakers  and  committee,"  for  the  settlement 
of  the  town.  u  He  was  esteemed  an  heavenly  man."  It  is  said  of  Mr. 
Whittlesey  that  uhe  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  preachers  in  the  colony  in 
his  day,  a  laborious,  faithful  minister  of  Christ,  applying  his  whole  time  to 
his  work,  and  that  he  shone  with  distinction  in  intellectual  and  moral  at- 
tainments." 


494  History  of  the  Churches. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Whittlesey,  the  Church  was  without  a  pastor  for 
about  six  years,  and  became  somewhat  divided  into  parties  in  consequence 
of  hearing  various  candidates.  They  "called"  at  length  Rev.  James  Dana, 
D.  D.,  of  Cambridge.  In  connection  with  his  settlement  arose  what  is  his- 
torically known  as  "the  Wallingford  controversy,"  an  account  of  which 
may  be  found  in  Trumbull's  History  of  Connecticut,  Bacon's  Historical  Dis- 
courses, and  in  a  volume  of  pamphlets  in  the  Library  of  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society. 

Dr.  Dana,  on  the  restoration  of  his  health,  was  dismissed,  and  became 
pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  New  Haven,  April  29,  1789.  He  was  noted 
for  his  discretion  and  dignified  propriety  of  conduct,  and  the  venerable  beauty 
of  all  his  public  performances,  particularly  his  prayers  ;  and  his  reputation 
for  learning  and  wisdom  was  unquestionable. 

Mr.  Noyes  belonged  to  a  line  of  ministers,  which  at  the  time  of  his  death 
had  existed  during  two  hundred  years  in  uninterrupted  succession.  He  was 
a  lover  of  peace  and  harmony.  In  his  public  discourses  he  was  always  dis- 
creet, amiable  and  conciliating ;  and  his  prayers,  especially  on  peculiar  oc- 
casions, such  as  domestic  affliction,  were  remarkable  for  their  elevation, 
spirituality  and  adaptation  to  the  circumstances  of  every  case.  His  pas- 
torate continued  47  years. 

The  Church  has  existed  183  years,  and  has  had  but  five  pastors.  Such 
an  instance  of  pastoral  permanence  and  longevity  may  not  be  unworthy  of 
record  in  grateful  remembrance  of  the  mercy  of  God. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Whittlesey,  Chauncey  Whittlesey,  James 
Noyes,  Lent  S.  Hough,  Edgar  J.  Doolittle,  Ogden  Hall,  Andrew  Bartholo- 
mew, Joseph  Bellamy,  Matthew  MerriaraJ  Thomas  Yale,  Comfort  Williams, 
David  Brooks. 

*Sp.  An.  1,  104.  Allen.  fSp.  An.  1,  268.  Allen  }Sp.  An.  1,  565.  Allen. 
§Sp.  An.  1,  362.  Allen.  \  Sp.  An.  2,  689. 


The  Second  Church  in  Wallingford,  Org.  April  3,  1759. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Simon  Waterman,  Oct.  1761  June,   1787  Nov.  1813 

This  Church  originated  in  what  is  known  as  the  Wallingford  controversy. 
A  minority  of  the  First  Church  who  were  opposed  to  the  settlement  of  Dr. 
Dana,  were  owned  and  acknowledged  to  be  the  first  consociated  church  in 
Wallingford,  by  the  united  council  of  the  Consociations  of  New  Haven 
County  and  Hartford  South.  They  were  incorporated,  with  others  associa- 
ted with  them,  into  the  "Wells  Ecclesiastical  Society"  in  1763,  having 
opened  their  meeting  house  Dec.  8,  1702.  The  Church  and  Society  each  by 
separate  vote,  declared  themselves  unable  longer  to  support  Mr.  Waterman, 
May  3,  1787.  Nov.  1788,  they  voted  unanimously  that  they  were  "  desirous 
of  holding  Christian  fellowship  and  communion  with  the  church  under  the 


History  of  the  Churches.  495 

care  of  Rev.  James  Xoyes,  notwithstanding  the  sentence  of  non-communion 
passed  some  years  since  by  a  consociatcd  council  against  said  Church.'' 
Some  of  them  returned  to  the  old  church,  and  others  went  to  other  ecclesi- 
astical organizations  ;  and  their  church  edifice  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Episcopalians  about  1831. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WARREN,  (FORMERLY  EAST  GREENWICH,)  ORG.  SEPT.  1756. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Silvahus  Osborn,*  June,   1757  May,      1771 

Peter  Starr, t  Mar.     1772  July,     1829 

Hart  Talcott,{  May,     1825  March,  1836 

Harley  Goodwin,  June,    1838  Dec.      1843         Jan.       1855 

John  R.  Keep,  May,     1844  Nov.      1852 

M.  M.  Wakeman,  Sept.     1853  June,     1856 

Francis  Lobdell,  Nov.      1859 

Universal  harmony  has  prevailed  from  the  formation  of  the  Church  to 
the  present  time.  During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Osborn  there  was  no  general 
revival  of  religion,  but  a  constant  attention  to  the  things  of  another  world, 
which  resulted  in  numbers  being  added  to  the  Church  every  year.  Since 
which  God  has  been  pleased  to  pour  out  His  Spirit  from  time  to  time  during 
each  successive  ministry.  The  most  powerful  work  was  in  1799  and 
1800,  when  it  seems  almost  the  whole  town  was  brought  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Gospel.  Ev.  Mag.  1,  100. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Reuben  Taylor,  Urban  Palmer,  Alanson  Sanders, 
Josiah  Hawes,  Charles  G.  Finney,  Seth  Sackett,  Prince  Hawes,  Charles 
Everitt,  John  Smith  Griffin,  Nathaniel  Swift,  Jr.,  Lucius  C.  Rouse,  Tertius 
Reynolds,  John  L.  Taylor,  Julian  M.  Sturtevant,  Myron  N.  Morris. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  890.  Allen.  fSp.  An.  1.  692.  Allen.  Litehf.  Centen.  78.  fLitchf. 
Centen.  119.  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WASHINGTON,  (FORMERLY  JUDEA  SOCIETY,)  ORG.  SEPT.  1,  1742. 

Reuben  Judd,  Sept.    1742  May,   1747 

Daniel  Brinsmade,*  Mar.     1749  April,  1793 

Noah  Merwin.t  Mar.    1785  April,  1795 

Ebenezer  Porter,  D.  D.,t          Sept.    1796  Dec.    1811  April,  1834 

Cyrus  W.  Gray,  April,  1813  Aug.    1815 

Stephen  Mason,  Feb.     1818  Dec.     1828 

Gordon  Hayes,  Oct.      1829  Dec.     1851 

Ephraim  Lyman,  June,    1852 

There  have  been  several  revivals,  in  which  large  additions  have  been 
made  to  the  church.  Besides  seasons  of  less  importance,  three  or  four  have 
been  specially  remarkable  in  extent,  viz  :  in  1804,  in  which  54  were  added, 


496  History  of  the  Churches. 

58  in  1824,  181  in  1831,  and  43  in  1843.  Ev.  Mag.  7.  143.  Eel  Intel.  16. 
331.  Dr.  Porter  was  eminent  both  as  a  minister  and  an  instructor  in  Ando- 
ver  Theological  Seminary,  whither  he  removed.  He  labored  for  many 
years  under  the  embarrassment  and  trial  of  ill  health,  but  accomplished 
much,  notwithstanding. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — John  Clark,  John  Clark, Davies,  Thomas 

Knapp,  Daniel  Parker,  George  A.  Calhoun,  Elisha  Mitchell,  Henry  Calhoun, 
Bennitt  B.  Burgess,  William  Sidney  Smith,  Samuel  Pond,  (f.)  Gideon  H. 
Pond,  (f.)  Lewis  Guim. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  631.    Allen.    fSp.  An.   2.  351.    Allen.    JSp.  An.    2.  351.    Allen. 
Litchf.  Ceuteu.  106.  Am.  Qu.  Keg.  9.  9. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  A    TERBURY,  ORG.  AUG.  26,  1683. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Jeremiah  Peck,*  Aug.    1689  June,  1709 

John  Southmayd,t  1700,  ord.  June,  1715  1739  Nov.    1755 

Mark  Leaven  worth,!  Mar.     1740  Aug.    1797 

Edward  Porter,  Nov.    1795  Jan.     1798  1828 

Holland  Weeks,  Nov.     1799  Dec.    1806  Aug.    1842 

Luke  Wood,  Nov.     1808  Nov.    1817  Aug.    1851 

Asahel  Nettleton,  D.  D.,  1815  1816 

Daniel  Crane,  July,    1821  April,  1825 

Henry  Benedict,  1826  1827 

Jason  Atwater,  Mar.     1829  June,  1830  April,  1860 

Joel  R.  Arnold,  Jan.      1831  June,  1836 

Henry  N.  Day,  Nov.    1836  Oct.     1840 

David  Root,  July,    1841  1844 

Henry  B.  Elliott,  Dec.     1845  April,  1851 

William  W.  Woodworth,       Sept.    1852  May,  1858 

George  Bushnell,  Sept    1858 

This  church  was  formed  eleven  years  after  the  first  settlement  was  made 
in  the  town  by  a  small  colony  from  Farmington.  Like  many  of  the  churches 
which  were  formed  during  the  early  period  of  its  history,  this  church  con- 
sisted at  first  of  seven  male  members,  who  were  the  "  seven  pillars  of  the 
church."  For  a  long  time  the  church  was  small ;  for  in  1705  there  were 
only  twelve  male  members.  The  territory  occupied  by  the  early  members 
of  this  church  was  large.  The  church  in  Westbury  (now  Watertown,)  was 
formed  mostly  by  members  from  this  church,  in  1738  ;  the  church  in  North- 
bury  (now  Plymouth,)  in  1740;  the  church  in  Middlebury  about  1790  ;  the 
church  in  Salem  (now  Naugatuck,)  in  1781 ;  the  church  in  Wolcott  in  1773  ; 
the  Second  Church  in  Waterbury  in  1852 ;  and  the  original  members  of  the 
church  in  Prospect  were  also  partly  from  this  church. 

Mr.  Southmayd,  a  native  of  Middletown,  commenced  preaching  here  soon 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Peck,  but  owing  to  the  poverty  and  distress  of  the 
town,  occasioned  by  its  exposure  to  attacks  from  the  Indians,  and  by  de- 


History  of  the  Churches.  497 

structive  floods,  was  not  ordained  till  Jane  20,  1715.  He  was  dismissed,  at 
his  own  request,  in  1739,  and  continued  to  reside  in  the  place  till  his  death, 
at  the  age  of  79.  The  weakness  of  the  church  50  years  ago,  is  also  shown 
in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Weeks  was  dismissed  for  want  of  support  The  old, 
uninteresting  village,  with  one  feeble  church,  has  become  the  thriving  city 
with  half  a  dozen  strong  and  vigorous  churches. 

The  church  has  shared  frequently  in  revivals.  Mr.  Leavenworth  was  an 
active  promoter  of  the  Great  Awakening.  Dr.  Xettleton  labored  here  with 
great  success.  Memoir  90. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Hopkins,  Samuel  Hopkins,  D.  D.,  Daniel 
Hopkins,  D.  D.,  Jonathan  Judd,  Benoni  Upson,  D.  D.,  Benjamin  Wooster, 
Ebenezer  Cook,  Thomas  Bronson,  Abner  J.  Leavenworth,  Eli  B.  Clark,  Ira 
H.  Smith,  George  A.  Bryan. 

*  Allen,    t  Allen.    JSp.  An.  2.  288.    Allen. 


THE  SECOND  CHCBCH  is  WATERBCRY,  ORG.  APRIL  4,  1852. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

S.  W.  MagilL,  May,    1852 

This  church  was  formed  to  meet  the  necessities  of  a  rapidly  growing  pop- 
ulation, and  is  steadily  working  its  way  to  an  independent  and  easily  sus- 
tained position. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WATERTOWN,  (FORMERLY  WESTBUKV,)  ORG.  1738. 

John  Trumbull,*  1739  Dec.    1787 

Uriel  Gridley,*  1784  Dec.    1820 

Horace  Hooker,  April,  1822  Oct.     1824 

Darius  0.  Griswold,t  Jan.     1825  Jan.     1835  Dec.    1841 

William  B.  DeForest,  Jan.     1835  June,  1837 

Philo  R.  Kurd,  July,    1840  Jan.     1849 

Chauncey  Goodrich,  Aug.    1849  Nov.    1856 

George  P.  Prudden,  Nov.    1856 

Watertown  was  originally  a  part  of  Waterbury.  In  1732,  the  inhabitants 
of  this  part  ot  the  town  requested  of  the  town  what  were  called  winter 
privileges.  Their  request  being  denied,  in  October  of  the  same  year  they 
petitioned  the  General  Assembly  on  the  same  subject  Their  petition  was 
granted,  and  the  privilege  allowed  for  four  years. 

In  May,  1734,  they  petitioned  to  be  made  a  separate  society,  but  their  pe- 
tition was  successfully  resisted  by  the  town.  In  Oct.  1730,  they  petitioned 
again,  and  were  again  refused.  Their  winter  privileges,  however,  were  con- 
tinued, and  extended  to  five  months  instead  of  four.  In  May,  1737,  the  at- 
tempt was  renewed,  but  unsuccessfully.  In  October,  however,  of  this  year, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  visit  them  and  investigate  the  circumstances. 

64 


498  History  of  the  Churches. 

This  committee  reported  in  May,  1738,  in  favor  of  the  petitioners,  and  re- 
commended a  division  line.  The  town  remonstrated,  and  so  earnestly,  that 
another  committee  was  appointed,  who  reported  in  October,  recommending 
the  same  line.  Their  report  was  adopted,  and  the  society  incorporated  by 
the  name  of  Westbury.  See  Bronsorfs  History  of  Waterbury. 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1741  ;  the  second  in  1772  ;  and 
the  third  in  1839. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Stephen  Fenn,  Israel  Beard  Woodward,  Aaron 
Button,  Matthewr  Rice  Dutton,  Frederick  Gridley,  Anson  S.  Atwood,  Jesse 
Guernsey,  John  L.  Seymour. 

*Litchf.  Centen.  77,  78.     tSp.  An.  2.  524.     Allen.     Litchf.  Centen.  118. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WAUREOAN,  IN  PLAINFIELD,  ORG.  JUNE  17,  1856. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Charles  L.  Ayer,  Dec.     1855  April,  1858 

E.  F.  Brooks,  May,     1858  April,  1859 

8.  H.  Fellows,  1859 

This  enterprise  was  originated  to  give  the  means  of  grace  to  the  popula- 
tion collected  by  a  new  manfacturing  establishment  erected  on  the  Quine- 
baug  River,  and  that  the  people  might  not  be  left  in  a  state  of  destitution, 
or  to  the  inroads  of  other  sentiments  and  influences.  The  church  is  largely 
dependent  on  Home  Missionary  aid. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WESTBROOK,  ORG.  JUNE  29,  1726. 

William  Worthington,*          June,  1726  Nov.    1756 

John  Devotion,t  Oct.     1757  Sept    1802 

Thomas  Rich,  June,   1804  Sept.    1810  Sept.  1836 

Sylvester  Selden,  June,  1812  Mar.    1834  Oct.     1841 

Jeremiah  Miller,  Feb.     1835  Mar.    1837 

William  A.  Hyde,  June,  1838  July,   1854 

Henry  T.  CheeVer,  May,    1855  May,    1856 

Stephen  A.  Loper,  Sept.    1858 

The  settlement  of  this  place  commenced  as  early  as  1664.  The  inhabi- 
tants attended  public  worship  at  Saybrook  sixty  years,  until  they  became 
sufficiently  numerous  to  form  a  separate  society.  Five  of  the  six  pastors 
began  their  ministry  here.  The  early  history  of  the  church,  extending 
through  more  than  half  a  century,  shows  that  there  were  additions  to  it  al- 
most every  year,  varying  in  number  from  2  or  3,  up  to  15  and  16.  In  1809 
and  1810,  a  revival  extended  through  the  society,  and,  as  the  fruits  of  it, 
more  than  sixty  were  added  to  the  church.  Since  that  time,  there  have 
been  nine  or  ten  other  revivals,  which  have  resulted  in  the  addition  of  about 
five  hundred. 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  built  in  1726  ;  the  second  in  1828  ;  re- 


History  of  the  Churches.  499 

built  and  re-modeled  in  1859.  The  church  has  a  small  fund  to  assist  its 
needy  members  ;  another  for  the  support  of  the  communion  table  ;  and  an- 
other for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  besides  a  valuable  parsonage.  There 
is  here  a  "  Ministerial  and  Parish  Library,"  the  foundation  of  which  was  laid 
a  few  years  since  by  the  Rev.  James  Murdock,  D.  D.,  who  gave  for  this  pur- 
pose 78  volumes  of  valuable  books ;  and  $200,  to  which  Mrs.  Nancy  Lay,  a 
member  of  the  church,  added  $200,  the  interest  of  which  is  to  be  expended 
for  new  books. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jonathan  Murdock,  James  Murdock,  James  Mur- 
dock, D.  D.,{  Jedediah  Bushnell,  Calvin  Bushnell,  John  Whittlesey,  Na- 
than F.  Chapman,  William  Bushnell,  Charles  Murdock,  William  H.  Moore. 
*Sp.  An.  1.  501.  Allen.  fSp.  Au.  1.  262.  Allen.  \  Allen.  Cong.  Y.  B.  1857,  119. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WESTCHESTER,  IN  COLCHESTER,  ORG.  DEC.  1729. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Judah  Lewis,  Dec.     1729  Apr     1739 

Thomas  Skinner,  April,  1740  Oct.     1762 

Robert  Robbins,  Oct.      1764  Jan.     1804 

Ezra  S.  Ely,  D.  D.  Oct.      1806  April,  1800 

Nathaniel  Dwight,*  Jan.      1812  Aug.    1820  1831 

Jacob  Scales,  Dec.      1820  May,    1826 

Joseph  Harvey,  Jan.      1827  Dec.     1835 

Daniel  G.  Sprague,  July,     1839  Jan.    1844 

Spoffbrd  D.  Jewett,  May,     1844  May,    1858 

A.  C.  Denison,  1858 

The  Westchester  Society  was  set  off  from  Colchester  in  the  year  1729. 
Original  members,  16  ;  added  by  Mr.  Lewis,  182  ;  by  Mr.  Skinner,  60,  dis- 
missed, 80,  baptized,  400  ;  by  Mr.  Robbins,  87,  dismissed  29,  baptized,  207. 

At  Mr.  Ely's  settlement,  the  church  was  reduced  to  10  males  and  20  fe- 
males. It  has  a  fund  of  about  $8000,  pays  a  liberal  salary,  and  its  ministry 
has  generally  been  able,  faithful  and  devoted.  It  has  enjoyed  occasional 
seasons  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  and  has  thus  been  enlarged ;  32 
were  added  in  1857. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Judah  Lewis,  John  Nileg,  Chauncey  Robbins, 
Jonathan  Cone,  George  Champion,  (f.)  William  Olmsted,  Jeremiah  Day. 

*  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WESTFIELD,  IN  MIDDLETOWN,  ORG.  DEC.  28,  1773. 
Thomas  Miner,  Dec.      1773  Apr.    1826 

Stephen  Hayes,  May,    1820  June,  1627 

Stephen  Topliff,  May,     1829  Sept.  1838 

James  H.  Francis,  Dec.     1840  June,  1845 

Lent  S.  Hough,  Feb.      1847 


500  History  of  the  Churches. 

The  Fourth  Church  in  Middletown  is  in  Westfield  Society,  which  was  in- 
corporated in  1766,  about  46  years  from  the  time  of  the  first  settlement. 

Mr.  Hayes,  from  Newark,  N.  J.,  was  pastor  of  the  churches  in  Westfield 
and  Middlefield,  giving  two-thirds  of  his  time  to  Westfield.  During  Mr. 
Hough's  ministry,  thus  far,  a  new  school-house,  with  modern  improvements, 
has  been  built  in  each  of  the  four  school  districts,  a  new  church  edifice  has 
been  erected,  and  a  building  has  been  purchased  and  fitted  up  very  con- 
veniently for  a  lecture  room.  To  the  praise  of  the  people,  it  may  be  said, 
"They  have  had  a  mind  to  work." 

The  society  raised,  in  1818,  a  fund,  so  guarded  that  it  cannot  be  destroyed 
by  a  majority  vote  of  the  society,  and  that  none  but  a  Congregational  min. 
ister  can  have  the  avails  of  it,  in  which  they  were  encouraged  by  Prof.  C. 
A.  Goodrich,  D.  D.,  by  a  handsome  donation  from  the  first  money  of  his  own 
earning.  Added  to  the  church  in  the  several  pastorates,  88,  21,  62,  31, 
and  130. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Lee. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WESTFORD,  IN  ASHFORD,  ORG.  FEB.  11,  1768. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Ebenezer  Martin,  June,  1768  1777  Sept.  1795 

Elisha  Hutchinson,  Mar.     1778  Sept.   1783  Apr.    1833 

William  Storrs,  Nov.     1790  Nov    1824 

Luke  Wood,*  Dec.     1826  Sept.   1831  Aug.   1851 

Alvan  Underwood,  April,  1858 

Charles  S.  Adams,  Sept.  1844,  inst.  Jan.  1846.  April,  1858 

Mr.  Hutchinson  became  a  Baptist  after  leaving  Westford.  See  Am.  Bap. 
Mag.,  Dec.  1833.  During  Mr.  Storrs'  ministry  there  were  several  revivals, 
especially  in  1799,  1809,  and  1819,  the  last  being  a  powerful  work,  adding 
more  than  50  to  the  church.  Mr.  Wood  was  eminently  successful  as  a  pas- 
tor, and  did  much  to  heal  the  wounds  in  Christ's  church,  and  build  up  her 
waste  places.  See  a  notice  of  him  in  Cong.  Journal,  Feb.  4,  1852  ;  also  no- 
tice of  Westford  pastors  in  Cong.  Quarterly,  July,  1859,  p.  268. 

*  Allen, 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WEST  HARTFORD,  ORG.  FEB.  24,  1713. 

Benjamin  Colton,  Feb.  1713  Mar.    1759 

Nathaniel  Hooker,*  Dec.  1757  June,  1770 

Nathan  Peikins,  D.  D.*  Oct.  1772  Jan.     1838 

Caleb  S.  Henry,  June,  1333  Mar.    1835 

Edward  W.  Andrews',  Nov.  1837  Dec.    1840 

George  I.  Wood,  Nov.  1841  June,  1844 

Dwight  M.  Seward,  Jan.  1845  Dec.    1850 

Myron  N.  Morris,  July,  1852 


History  of  the  Churches.  501 

The  following  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  divisions  among  a  peo- 
ple do  not  necessarily  involve  the  dissolution  of  the  church  and  society,  nor 
preclude  the  possibility  of  their  enjoying  a  permanent  and  highly  useful 
ministry.  It  also  suggests  how  a  certain  kind  of  divisions  ma}'  be  avoided  ; 
and  on  what  ground — when  they  exist — harmony  may  be  restored. 

Dr.  Perkins,  in  his  Half-Century  Sermon,  preached  Oct.  13,  1822,  refer- 
ring to  the  condition  of  the  people  at  the  time  he  came — a  youth  and  stran. 
ger — among  them,  remarked :  "  The  church  and  parish  were  vacant  two 
and  a  half  a  years  before  my  ordination  to  the  pastoral  office,  in  which  time 
you  had  sixteen  candidates  on  trial  for  settlement,  each  of  whom,  as  was  to 
be  expected,  would  have  some  fast  friends.  In  consequence  of  a  measure  of 
this  nature,  the  church  and  society  were  miserably  rent  and  divided.  They 
were  greatly  distracted, — so  much  so,  that  neighboring  ministers,  whom  they 
consulted,  advised  them  to  dismiss  all  thoughts  of  settling  any  of  the  nu- 
merous candidates  whom  they  had  already  employed,  and  apply  to  one 
whom  they  had  never  seen  nor  heard,  as  the  most  likely  means  to  accom- 
plish a  union,  if  possibly  a  union  might  be  accomplished."  Mr.  Perkins 
was  sent  for ;  he  came,  and  was  settled,  and  thus  commenced  a  pasto- 
rate which  continued  to  the  day  of  his  death,  a  period  of  more  than  sixty- 
Jive  years.  u  But,"  he  remarks,  "it  was  several  years  before  individuals 
could  wholly  forget  their  past  bitter  contentions  and  divisions." 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Eli  Colton,  George  Colton,  Eliphalet  Steele,  Marsh- 
field  Steele,  (h.)  Nathan  Perkins,  George  Colton,  (h.)  Chester  Colton,  (h.) 
Harry  Croswell,  D.  D.,  (Ep.)  Joab  Brace,  D.  D.,  Epaphras  Goodman,  Evelyn 
Sedgwick,  Seymour  M.  Spencer,  (f.)  Richard  Woodruff;  (h.)  Amzi  Francis, 
Chester  Isham,  Austin  Isham,  Hiram  Elmer. 

*Sp.  An.  2. 1.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WEST  HARTLAND,  ORG.  MAY  4,  1780. 

MINISTERS.                                  BUTTLED.  DISMISSED.                                DIED. 

Nathaniel  Gaylord,*               Jan.     1782  Apr.    1841 

William  Ely,                                     1823  1824                       I860 

Adolphus  Terry,                      Nov.    1824  Apr.     1832 

John  A.  Hempsted,                 Oct      1833  Sept  1835                        186- 

LukeWood,                            Oct.     1838  May,   1842            Aug.  1851 

Aaron  Gatt9,                           May,    1843  Apr.    1846             Apr.    1860 

Pearl  S.  Cossitt,                     June,  1847  Nov.    1848 

Charles  G.  Goddard,               June,  1850  Feb.    1854 

Henry  A.  Austin,                   May,    1854  1855 
Charles  G.  Goddard,                June,   1856 

Rev.  Nathaniel  Gaylord,  the  first  pastor,  died  in  the  90th  year  of  his  age, 
and  the  59th  year  of  his  ministry. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Flavel  S.  Gaylord, Taylor. 

»  Allen. 


502  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  WEST  HAVEN,  IN  ORANGE,  ORG.  1719. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Samuel  Johnson,  1720  1722  1772 

Jonathan  Arnold,  1725  1734 

Timothy  Allen;*  1738  1742  1806 

Nathan  Birdseye,t  1742  1758  Jan.     1818 

Noah  Williston,t  1760  Nov.    1811 

Stephen  W.  Stebbens,§  1815  Aug.   1843 

Edward  Wright,  1843  Oct.     1852 

Hubbard  Beebe,  1854  1856 

Erastus  Culton,  June,  1856  Jan.     1858 

George  Andrew  Bryan,  Sept.    1858 

Mr.  Johnson,  with  Rector  Cutler,  and  Mr.  Wetmore  of  North  Haven,  de- 
clared for  Episcopacy,  and  opened  the  advance  movement  in  dissent,  when  the 
churches  of  the  State  had  almost  with  one  consent  belonged  to  the  "  stand- 
ing order"  for  nearly  one  hundred  years.  Mr.  Arnold  also  followed  in 
the  steps  of  his  predecessor.  Mr.  Allen  was  summarily  dismissed  as  a  New 
Light,  but  long  labored  as  a  faithful  minister.  It  is  remarkable  that  except 
Mr.  Arnold,  the  first  five  pastors  were  in  the  ministry,  respectively,  52,  68, 
72,  51  and  57  years, — 300  in  all,  or  an  average  of  60  years.  West  Haven  was 
taken  from  New  Haven  in  1822,  and  united  with  the  society  of  North  Milford 
to  form  the  town  of  Orange.  This  society  had  its  neat  and  valuable  house 
of  worship  burnt  in  1859,  and  with  great  effort  opened  a  new  house — larger 
and  much  better,  with  a  Conference  room  attached,  in  July,  1860. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Payson  WillistonJ  Seth  Williston,  D.o.,1T  Richard 
S.  Storrs,  D.  D.,  William  T.  Reynolds,  John  Bunnel. 

*  Tracy's  Great  Awak.  314,  368.  tSp.  An.  1.  436.  Allen.  JSp.  An.  1.  586.  Al- 
len. §  Sp.  An.  1.  439.  Allen.  |  Cong.  Y.Book,  3. 125.  1  Sp.  An.  4.  140. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WEST  KILL[NGLT,  DANIELSONVILLE,  (FORMERLY  WESTFIELD,) 

ORG.  AUG.  1801. 

Gordon  Johnson,  Dec.     1804  Jan.       1809 

Roswell  Whitmore,  Jan.    1813  May,      1843 

Thomas  0.  Rice,  Jan.    1845  March,  1856 

Thomas  T.  Waterman,  Jan.    1858 

The  Church  has  been  repeatedly  and  richly  blessed  with  the  outpourings 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  some  800  persons  having  been  connected  with  it  by 
letter  and  profession.  Some  570  of  these  were  added  during  the  long  and 
effective  ministry  of  Rev.  Mr.  Whitmore. 

The  Church  and  Society  have  one  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful 
church  edifices  in  Connecticut,  built  in  1853,  on  a  new  site,  which  was  re- 
quired by  the  change  of  population  in  the  growth  of  the  village. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP.— Zolva  Whitmore,  N.  E.  Johnson,  Herbert  A.  Reid, 
(h.)rEzra  G.  Johnson,  (h.)  George  I.  Stearns,  (h.)  Henry  Kies,  (h.)  Isaac 
N.  Cundall,  (h.) 


History  of  the  Churches.  503 

THE  CHURCH  ix  WESTMINISTER,  IN  CANTERBURY,  ORG.  DEC.  20,  1770. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Staples,  April,  177:2  I-Vb.    1804 

Erastus  Learned,*  Feb.    1805  June,  1824 

Israel  G.  Rose,  Mar.     1825  Oct.       1831 

Asa  King,*  Jan.     1833  Dec.  1849 

Reuben  S.  Hazen,  Sept.    1849 

The  Church  in  Westminster  was  originally  formed  of  members  belonging 
for  the  most  part  to  the  Church  in  Canterbury  ;  embracing  most  or  all 
those  residing  in  the  western  part  of  tho  town,  now  called  Westminster. 
The  Church  and  Society  in  Westminster  have  almost  constantly  enjoyed 
the  stated  means  of  grace,  and  have  been  generally  united  and  prosperous 
from  the  first.  Seasons  of  revival  have  been  enjoyed  from  time  to  time, 
the  last  of  which  was  during  the  year  1858,  as  the  fruits  of  which  about 
30  have  been  added  to  the  Church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — William  Bradford,  James  Bradford,  Josiah  Brad- 
ford, Archibald  Burgess,  Zedekiah  Barstow,  D.  D.,  Samuel  Backus,  Jason 

Park,  Hiram  Dyer,  Seth  Waldo. 

*  Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WESTON,  (FORMERLY  NORFIELD,)  ORG.  AUG.  17,  1757. 
Samuel  Sherwood,  Aug.     1757  May,     1783 

John  Noyes,*  May,     1786  May,     1807 

John  Xoyes,  April,    1823  1836         May,     1846 

George  Hall,  Jan.      1837  March,  1841 

Mark  Mead,  July,     1841  Jan.      1844 

Li-tri*Pennell,  Aug.     1844  Oct.       1849 

Z.  B.  Burr,  June,    1850 

The  Rev.  J.  Xoyes,  who  resided  in  Weston  after  his  dismissal,  supplied 
the  pulpit  a  portion  of  the  time  from  1808  till  1823,  (being  the  regular  sup- 
ply in  Greenwich  First  1810  to '24,)  during  which  period  there  was  no  settled 
minister  or  stated  supply.  See  Iter.  J.  Noyes's  Haff  Century  Sermon,  1836. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Daniel  Banks. 

*  Sp.  An.  1.  362.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WESTPORT,  ORG.  JULY  5,  1832. 
Charles  Boardman,  Feb.      1833  Dec.      1836 

Henry  Benedict,  Jan.       1840  March,  1852 

Joseph  D.  Strong,  April,    1853  Feb.       1855 

Timothy  Atkinson,  Jan.       1856 

In   1831,  measures  were  adopted  for  the  building  of  a  meeting  house, 


504  History  of  the  Churches. 

which  was  opened  on  the  5th  of  July,  1832.  The  Church  in  the  A-illage  of 
Saugatuck  was  constituted  with  36  members  dismissed  from  Green's  Farms, 
and  in  1835,  the  village  with  adjoining  territory  was  incorporated  as  the 
town  of  Westport. 

Mr.  Boardman  was  dismissed  to  become  Secretary  and  General  Agent  of 
the  Western  Keserve  Branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Education  Society. 

Mr.  Strong  was  dismissed  to  take  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Second  For- 
eign Church  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  meeting  house  was  enlarged 
and  repaired  in  1857. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WEST  STAFFORD,  ORG.  OCT.  31,  1764. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Isaac  Foster,*  Oct.       1764  Deposed,  1781 

Calvin  Ingals,  Dec.      1796  March,  1803         Sept.     1830 

Joseph  Knight,  Nov.      1816  Dec.      1829 

Stephen  Ellis,  (c.)  Sept.     1831?          Dec.      1833? 

Elliot  Palmer,  May,     1834  April,    1847 

Augustus  B.  Collins,  May,     1848  April,   1852 

Charles  Galpin,  1852  1853 

Ahah  Page,  Jan.      1854?          April,    1856? 

Frederick  W.  Chapman,       Oct.       1856  ? 

For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Foster  and  his  people  were  on  good  terms,  be- 
ing mutually  agreed  and  happy.  But  at  length  difficulties  arose  on  account 
of  certain  doctrines  advanced  by  Mr.  Foster,  whereby  several  of  the 
members  of  the  Church  were  aggrieved ;  and  having  labored  with  Mr. 
Foster  to  no  purpose,  they  complained  of  him  to  the  North  Association 
of  the  county  of  Hartford.  The  Association  convened,  and  becoming  satis- 
fied of  Mr.  Foster's  departure  from  some  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  deposed  him  from  the  ministry.  A  large  minority,  however,  still  ad- 
hered to  him.  The  majority  therefore  called  a  council  of  the  Association  for 
advice,  and  were  declared  by  said  council  to  be  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
West  Stafford,  on  their  subscription  to  certain  articles  of  Faith,  similar  to 
those  of  sister  Congregational  Churches.  Said  articles  were  subscribed  to 
by  25  members,  April  17,  1781.  The  seeds  of  Universalism  and  Infidelity, 
sown  by  Mr.  Foster,  produced  an  abundant  harvest.  As  the  result,  the 
Church  has  had  difficulties  to  contend  with,  and  has  been  too  feeble  most 
of  the  time  to  sustain  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  without  foreign  aid. 

The  Church  was  destitute  of  a  pastor  for  15  years  before,  and  13  years 
after  Mr.  Ingals's  pastorate,  having  only  occasional  preaching.  Mr.  Ingals, 
after  being  absent  from  Stafford  for  a  few  years,  returned  again,  and  admin- 
istered the  ordinances  of  the  Church  occasionally  until  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Knight.  He  was  chosen  a  deacon  of  the  Church,  March  3,  1820,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  until  his  death. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  142. 


History  of  the  Churches.  505 

THE  CHDRCH  IN  WEST  SUFFIELD,  ORG.  1744. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

John  Graham,*  Oct.     1746  April,    1796 

Daniel  Waldo,  May,    1792  Dec.      1809 

Joseph  Mix,  Dec.     1814  Nov.      1829 

Erastus  Clapp,  five  years, 

Benjamin  J.  Lane,  two  years, 

Joseph  W.  Sessions,  Jan.     1843  Nov.      1852 

Henry  J.  Lamb,  June,    1853  March,  1857 

Henry  Cooley,  June,  1857,  inst  Mar.  1860 

Apparently  this  Church  has  not  been  in  a  more  favorable  and  promising 
condition  than  at  present,  for  half  a  century. 

MINISTER  RAISED  UP. — Sylvester  Graham.t 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  315.    t  Mendon  As.  309. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WESTVILLE,  IN  NEW  HAVEN,  ORG.  DEC.  25,  1832. 
John  E.  Bray,  Sept     1832  Sept.     1834 

Judson  A.  Root,  April,    1842  Sept     1846 

Samuel  H.  Elliot,  Dec.      1849  May,     1855 

J.  L.  Willard,  Oct.       1855 

The  rising  of  the  thrifty  and  growing  village  where  this  Church  is  loca- 
ted demanded  its  existence,  though  the  number  of  Congregationalists  here 
was  for  several  years  insufficient  for  self-support.  Aid  was  afforded  by  the 
Home  Missionary  Society,  till  1855,  which  has  proved  a  very  wise  and  profit- 
able expenditure.  Preaching  was  supplied  for  several  years  from  the  The- 
ological Seminary,  New  Haven. 

From  a  small  beginning,  this  Church  and  Society  are  now  in  a  flourishing 
condition.  The  house  of  worship  was  enlarged  to  meet  the  demands  of  a 
growing  congregation,  in  1859. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WEST  WINSTED,  IN  WINCHESTER,  ORG.  JAN.  18,  1854. 
C.  H.  A.  Buckley,  Dec.  1854  May,    1859 

Arthur  T.  Pierson,  1859 

A  Church  having  existed  in  the  thriving  village  of  Winsted  nearly  65 
years,  a  division  was  amicably  effected,  local  circumstances  and  the  increase 
of  population  seeming  to  demand  it,  and  both  Churches  are  vigorously  sus- 
tained. The  benevolent  contributions,  for  the  year  ending  May,  1860,  amount- 
ed to  $700,  besides  paying  a  liberal  salary. 


65 


506  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  WEST  WOODSTOCK,  ORG.  1*747. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Stephen  Williams,*  June,   1747  April,    1795 

Alvan  Underwood,t  May,   1801  March,  1833        April,    1858 

John  D.  Baldwin,  Sept.   1834  July,     1837 

Benjamin  Ober,  Dec.    1839  March,  1846 

Edward  F.  Brooks,  April,  1846  April,    1850 

William  Allen,  April,  1850?          Nov.      1852 

Alvan  Underwood,  Nov.     1852  April,    1854 

Joseph  "W.  Sessions,  June,  1854 

This  Church  was  formed  chiefly  of  members,  who  were  dismissed  for  the 
purpose,  from  the  Church  in  South  Woodstock,  then  under  the  care  of  Rev. 
Abel  Stiles.  This  Church  and  Society  have  never  been  large,  though  once 
much  larger  than  at  present.  Within  the  bounds  of  the  parish  there  are 
now  three  other  religious  societies, — one  Baptist,  one  Methodist,  and  one 
Universalist,  all  having  places  of  worship  and  regular  services  on  the  Sab- 
bath. This  Church  and  Society  have  always  lived  in  peace  among  them- 
selves, and  with  others  around  them. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Stephen  Williams,  Jr.,  Alvan  Underwood. 
*Sp.  An.  1,  287.    tCong.  Y.  Book,  6,  146. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WETHERSFIELD,  ORG.  1641. 

Henry  Smith,  1636                         1639                     1648 

Richard  Denton*  1636                         1639                     1663 

Peter  Pruddenj  1639            April,    1640         July,     1656 

Henry  Smith,  1641                                                      1648 

John  Russell,t  1650                         1659 

John  Cotton,  Jr.,  1659  ? 
Joseph  Haynes, 
Thomas  Buckingham, 

Jonathan  Willoughby,  Jr.,  1667  ? 

Gershom  Bulkley,J  1667                         1677        Dec.       1713 

Samuel  Stone,  1667            June,     1669 

Joseph  Rowlandson,t  1677                                                     1678 

John  Woodbridge.t  1679                                                      1691 

Stephen  Mix,§  1694                                         Aug.     1738 

James  LockwoodJ  Feb.    1739                                         July,     1772 

John  Marsh,  D.  D.,1T  Jan.     1774                                         Sept.      1821 

Caleb  J.  Tenney,  D.  D.,**  Mar.    1816            Jan.      1841         Sept.     1847 

Charles  J.  Warren.tt  July,   1835             Feb.      1837 

Robert  Southgate,  Feb.     1838            Nov.      1843 

Mark  Tucker,  D.  D.,  Oct.     1845            April,    1856 

Willis  S.  Colton,  Sept.    1856 
Wethersfield  was  one  of  the  three  first  settled  towns  of  Connecticut.     Sir 


History  of  the  Churches.  507 

Richard  Saltonstall  with  his  company  settled  at  Watertown,  Mass ,  but 
on  account  of  the  great  number  of  immigrants  from  England,  some  of  the 
people  at  Watertown  left  and  settled  Wethersfield ;  likewise  from  Dor- 
chester and  Newtown  or  Cambridge,  settlers  came  to  Windsor  and  Hartford. 
Those  who  first  came  to  submit  again  to  the  hardships  of  a  new  settlement, 
were  men  of  character  and  high  standing  both  in  Church  and  State.  Woth- 
ersfield  was  more  unfortunate  than  the  other  two  churches,  in  not  having  at 
first  a  permanent,  unchanging  ministry.  TrumbulVa  Hist.  1,  22,  23,  59  and 
63.  Account  of  revivals  in  Memoir  of  Dr.  Nettleton,  135.  Rel.  Intel.  6, 
730;  11,  123,  140. 

Mr.  Mix  was  one  of  the  Scribes  of  Saybrook  Synod,  1708. 

The  Church  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition  as  to  wealth,  numbers  and 
general  unanimity  among  the  members  in  feeling  and  action.  More  than  70 
were  added  by  profession  in  1857-8. 

MINISTERS  RAJSED  UP. — Gershom  Bulkley,  Joshua  L.  Williams,  John 
Marsh,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  Jonathan  Russell,t  Daniel  Boardman,  Samuel  P.  Wil- 
liams,^ John  Chester,  D.  D.,§§  William  Williams. 

*  Mather's  Mag.  1, 360.  t  Allen,  t  Am.  Qr.  Reg.  9,  366.  §  Sp.  An.  1.  281.  |  Sp. 
An.  1.  413.  Allen.  «[  Sp.  An.  1.  619.  Allen.  **  Sp.  An.  2.  472.  ft  Mendon  As. 
182.  U  Sp.  An.  4.  370.  §§  Sp.  An.  4,  401. 

THE  CHURCH  is  WILLINGTON,  OEG.  SEPT.  11,  1726. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

-Fuller,  Sept.     1728  Dec.      1758 

Gideon  Noble,*  1759  1790 

Abishai  Alden,  1791  1802 

Hubbell  Loomis,  Aug.      1804  Sept.     1828 

Francis  Wood,  Dec.      1829  July,     1838 

David  Bancroft,  Oct       1839  Jan.      1858 

Charles  Bentley,  Oct       1858 

By  the  town  records  we  learn  that  Mr.  Fuller  was  ordained  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  John  Merick.  No  records  of  any  house  of  worship  being  erected  till 
1798.  The  one  then  built  is  now  occupied  by  the  Church,  although  exten- 
sive alterations  were  made  in  it  in  1840. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  century,  the  Church  and  Congregation,  by  sub- 
scription, raised  a  fund,  the  amount  of  which  is  now  $5000,  (a  part  of  it 
having  been  lost  by  failure  of  a  Bank.) 

There  were  revivals  in  the  Church  during  the  ministry  of  Messrs.  Loomis, 
Wood  and  Bancroft,  and  also,  soon  after  the  dismission  of  Mr.  Bancroft,  as 
fruits  of  which  30  were  added  to  the  church.  Mr.  Noble  was  dismissed  for  in- 
temperance. Mr.  Loomis,  during  his  pastorate,  became  a  Baptist,  and  as  a 
consequence,  a  large  portion  of  the  church  seceded  when  he  was  dismissed, 
and  formed  the  present  Baptist  Church,  which  weakened  and  discouraged 
this  Church.  Eel.  Intel.  14,  550;  18,  715. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Zebulon  Crocker,  Stephen  Topliff,  Benjamin 
Sharp. 

*  Allen. 


508  History  of  the  Churches. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  WILLIMANTIC,  IN  WINDHAM,  ORG.  JAN.  22,  1828. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Dennis  Platt,  Aug.      1827  Oct.       1829 

Ralph  S.  Grampian,  April,    1830?          April,    1832 

Philo  Judson,  Dec.      1834  March,  1839 

Andrew  Sharpe,  Sept.     1840  June,     1849 

Samuel  G.  Willard,  Nov.     1849 

Previous  to  1821,  what  is  now  Willimantic  contained  only  about  20  fam- 
ilies. Soon  after,  several  factories  were  erected,  and  the  population  in  1827 
was  perhaps  1000.  Up  to  1827  there  was  no  church  or  stated  preaching — 
except  in  a  school  house — nearer  than  Windham  Center,  three  miles  dis- 
tant. In  August,  1827,  on  application  of  a  few  persons  in  Willimantic,  made 
with  the  hearty  approbation  of  Rev.  C.  B.  Everest  of  Windham,  the  Direc- 
tors of  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  sent  Mr.  Dennis  Platt  to  labor  for 
twelve  weeks  in  the  new  Village.  Mr.  Platt  states  that  they  designed  this 
as  an  experiment  "to  test  the  question  whether  an  Evangelical  Church 
could  be  established  in  a  manufacturing  village." 

Up  to  this  time  there  was  not  even  a  Sabbath  School.  With  the  aid  of  a 
Society  of  Ladies  in  Tolland  County,  he  labored  about  six  months  without 
expense  to  the  people,  except  for  board.  Before  the  six  months  elapsed  a 
Church  of  16  members  was  organized. 

The  Church  was  much  blessed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  four  years  from  its 
organization  it  contained  about  100  members.  During  the  first  ten  years  of 
its  existence,  the  Church  was  aided  by  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of 
Connecticut.  The  whole  sum  thus  received  was  $1213,  a  large  sum  com- 
pared with  the  annual  contributions  of  many  churches  to  Home  Missionary 
purposes,  but  less  than  it  often  costs  to  educate  one  man  for  the  ministry. 

The  Church  and  Society  for  15  or  20  years  had  pecuniary  as  well  as  mor- 
al difficulties  to  contend  with.  Their  house  of  worship  was  dedicated  in  the 
autumn  of  1828,  and  was  paid  for  with  much  difficulty.  Several  years  af- 
ter it  was  enlarged.  Up  to  the  time  of  its  enlargement  it  was  difficult  to 
meet  the  annual  expenses.  The  Church  has  never  had  either  numbers  or 
wealth  to  aid  it  in  commanding  the  respect  of  the  community. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WILTON,  ORG.  JUNE  20,  1726. 

Robert  Sturgeon,  July,  1726  1732 

William  Gay  lord,  •  Feb.  1733  Jan.      1766 

Mills,  1765  1767 

Isaac  Lewis,  D.  o.,t  Oct.  1768  June,    1786        Aug.     1840 

Aaron  Woodward,!  Jan.  1794  1800 

John  I.  Carle,  June,  1801  1804 

Samuel  Fisher,  Dec.  1805  July,     1809 

Sylvan  us  Haight,  Oct.  1810  Aug.      1831 

Samuel  Merwin,  Feb.  1832  Sept.     1838         Sept.      1858 


History  of  the  Churches.  509 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DUD. 

John  Smith,  Feb.      1839  June,     1848 

Gordon  Hall,  Oct.      1848  May,     1852 

Thomas  S.  Bradley,  July,    1853  Oct.       1857 

Charles  B.  Ball,§  June,  1858  Jan.      1859 

Samuel  R.  Dimock,  Dec.     1859 

"Wilton  was  originally  a  part  of  Norwalk.  The  half-way  covenant  occa- 
sioned much  difficulty  in  the  Church  during  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Lewis. 
By  his  influence  the  Church  passed  a  vote,  Oct.  1783,  to  abolish  it,  and 
the  Society  also  voted  a  year  after  to  "  sustain  the  Church  and  pastor  in 
their  principles."  But  after  a  stormy  debate,  two  months  after  the  dismis- 
sion of  their  pastor,  the  half-way  covenant  was  restored,  and  was  not  finally 
abolished  until  the  present  confession  of  faith  was  adopted  in  its  stead,  soon 
after  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Fisher.  There  were  three  extensive  and  power- 
ful revivals  under  the  labors  of  Mr.  Haight  and  Mr.  Smith,  and  large  addi- 
tions by  other  pastors.  In  the  second  house  of  worship,  Whitfield  preached 
in  1740,  from  Job  40,  4,  "  Behold  I  am  vile."  The  first  house  was  built  at  the 
time  of  organization,  but  being  too  small,  another  was  begun  in  1738,  but  was 
not  finished,  for  lack  of  funds,  till  1747  ;  the  present  house  in  1790,  dedica- 
tion sermon  by  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight,  from  Gen.  28,  17.  Rel  Intel.  6,  762. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Moses  Stuart,  Samuel  G.  Willard. 

*  Allen,    t  Sp.  An.  1,  662.    Allen.    JSp.   An.  1,585.    §  Cong.  Qu.  1859,  225. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  WINCHESTER,  (CENTER,)  ORG.  Ocr  30,  1771. 
Joshua  Knapp,*  Nov.      1772  Oct.       1789         March,  1816 

Publius  V.  Bogue,  Jan.      1791  March,  1800         Aug.      1836 

Archibald  Bassett,  May,     1801  Aug.      1806        July,     1860 

Frederick  Marsh,  Feb.      1809  Oct.       1851 

James  H.  Dill,  Aug.     1846  Oct       1851 

J.  W.  Cunningham,  (c.)  1852?  1854? 

Ira  Pettibone,  Oct.      1857 

The  Consociation  declined  to  install  Mr.  Cunningham,  on  account  of  oppo- 
sition and  remonstrance.  Since  1783,  there  have  been  repeated  revivals,  ad- 
ding in  seven  different  years  from  21  to  70  members  each.  Bel.  Intel.  16, 
413. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Noble  Everitt,  Abel  McEwen,  D.  D.,  James  Beach, 
Eliphaz  Platt,  Daniel  E.  Goodwin,  Henry  B.  Blake. 
*  Sp.  An.  1.  370.    Allen. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WINDHAM,  ORG.  DEC.  10,  1700. 

Samuel  Whiting,*  1692  inst.  Dec.     1700  Sept.     1725 

Thomas  Clap,t  Aug.    1726  1739        Jan.      1767 


510  History  of  the  Churches. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Stephen  White,!  Dec.      1740  Jan.       1793 

Elijah  Waterraan,§  Oct.       1794  Feb.      1805         Oct.       1825 

William  Andrews J  Aug.      1808  April,    1813 

Cornelius  B.  Everest,  Nov.      1815  Nov.      1827" 

Richard  F.  Cleaveland,          Oct.       1829  Oct.       1832  1855 

John  Ellery  Tyler,  Oct.      1837  Dec.      1851 

Geo.  Ingersol  Stearns,  Dec.      1852 

This  town  voted  June  11,  1692,  to  employ  Mr.  Whiting  as  their  minister. 
This  church  during  a  part  of  its  history  enjoyed  a  good  degree  of  prosper- 
ity. One  pastor,  (Mr.  Clap,)  was  called  directly  from  this  Church  to  the 
Presidency  of  Yale  College.  Dr.  Eleazar  Wheelock  was  the  son  of  one  of 
the  deacons.  This  Church  has  sent  off  four  colonies  from  the  limits  of  the 
original  parish,  viz :  the  Churches  in  Mansfield,  (South,)  Scotland,  Hamp- 
ton, and  Willimantic. 

Ever  since  the  Revolutionary  war,  there  has  been  much  irreligion  here. 
The  Separatist  movement  did  some  mischief.  An  Episcopal  Church  and  So- 
ciety started  in  1832,  which  withdrew  from  us  a  large  share  of  the  wealth 
of  the  place ;  and,  added  to  all  this,  was  a  removal  of  the  County  Courts, 
and  a  large  part  of  the  profitable  business  once  flourishing  here.  The  re- 
sult is  that  this  is  a  comparatively  feeble  church. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Elijah  Fitch,  IF  Augustine  Hibbard,  Eleazar 
Wheelock,  D.  D.,**  Allen  Clark. 

*  Sp.  An.  1,  182.  Allen,  t  Sp.  An.  1,  234,  343.  Allen.  }  Sp.  An.  2,  235.  Allen. 
§  Sp.  An.  2.  342.  Allen.  |  Sp.  An.  2.  237.  Litchf.  Centen.  120.  1  Mendon  Assoc. 
117.  **Am.  Qr.  Reg.  10,  9. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  WINDSOR,  ORG.  MARCH,  1630,  IN  PLYMOUTH,  ENGLAND. 

John  Warham,*                                1630  April,   1670 

John  Maverick,*                                  1630  Feb.      1636 

Ephraim  Hewit,*                                 1639  Sept.     1644 

Nathaniel  Chauncey,t                        1667  1680        Nov.     1685 

Samuel  Mather,!                                 1682  1727 

Jonathan  Marsh,  J                                1709  Sept.      1747 

William  Russell,!                 July,     1751  1775 

David  S.  Rowland,!                             1776  1794 

Henry  A.  Rowland,!             May,     1790  July,     1835                     1835 

Charles  Walker,                    March,  1836  1837 

Royal  Reed,                           Oct.       1837  Oct.       1838 

Spofford  D.  Jewett,                 June,     1839  Oct.       1843 

Theodore  A.  Leete,               Sept.     1845  Sept.     1859 
Benjamin  Parsons,              July?      I860 

The  people  who  originally  composed  the  First  Church  of  Windsor  were 

from  the  Counties  of  Devon,   Dorset,  and  Somerset,  England.    They  had 


History  of  the  Churches.  511 

met  by  previous  appointment  at  Plymouth,  their  port  of  embarkation,  and 
on  a  day  set  apart  for  fasting  and  prayer  they  were  organized  into  a  church, 
and  Rev.  John  Warham  and  Rev.  John  Maverick  were  chosen  and  installed 
Pastor  and  Teacher.  They  set  sail,  (probably  but  a  few  days  after,)  on  the 
20th  of  March,  1030.  They  arrived  in  New  England,  May  30,  and  settled 
in  Dorchester,  Mass.  In  the  summer  of  1635,  and  the  spring  of  1636,  most 
of  them  came  to  Windsor,  accompanied  by  their  pastor,  bringing  their 
Church  organization  with  them.§  Mr.  Maverick,  the  teacher,  died  in  Dor- 
chester. 

Mr.  Warham  was  one  of  the  four  ministers  appointed  by  the  General 
Court  of  Connecticut,  in  1657,  to  meet  in  Boston,  such  Divines  from  the 
other  colonies  as  should  be  sent  to  discuss  Certain  Ecclesiastical  questions, 
among  others  that  of  Baptism.  The  next  Jan.  (1657-8)  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  baptizing  under  the  half-way  covenant,  which  it  has  been  sup- 
posed was  first  practiced  in  Connecticut,  in  Ilartlord,  in  1666.  The  practice 
was  still  continued  in  this  Church  in  1822,  but  probably  only  in  families 
where  the  older  children  had  been  baptized  under  that  system. 

In  1664,  the  record  was  made  :  "the  General  Court  doth  approve  of  the 
pious  and  prudent  care  of  Windsor  in  seeking  out  for  a  supply  and  help  in 
the  ministry,  Mr.  Warham  growing  ancient." 

Cotton  Mather  says  of  him,  "  I  suppose  the  first  preacher  that  ever 
preached  with  notes  in  our  New  England,  was  the  Rev.  Warham ;  who 
though  he  were  sometimes  faulted  for  it  by  some  judicious  men  who  had 
never  heard  him,  yet  when  once  they  came  to  hear  him,  they  could  not  but 
admire  the  notable  energy  of  his  ministry.  He  was  a  more  vigorous  preach- 
er than  the  most  of  them  who  have  been  applauded  for  never  looking  into  a 
book  in  their  lives.  His  latter  days  were  spent  in  the  pastoral  care  and 
charge  of  the  Church  in  Windsor,  where  the  whole  colony  of  Connecticut 
considered  him  as  a  principal  pillar  and  father  of  the  colony."  Sprague's 
Annals,  1,  11. 

In  1667,  the  General  Court  authorized  "all  the  freemen  and  householders 
of  Windsor  and  Massano,  (Simsbury,)  to  meet  on  Monday  next,  at  the 
meeting-house,  by  sun  an  hour  high  in  the  morning,  to  bring  their  votes  to 
Mr.  Henry  Wolcott.  Those  that  would  have  Mr.  Chauncey  to  be  settled  min- 
ister in  Windsor,  are  to  bring  in  a  paper  to  Mr.  Wolcott  with  some  writing 
on  it.  Those  that  are  against  his  continuance  are  to  bring  a  white  paper  to 
Mr.  Wolcott.  And  this  court  doth  hereby  require  and  command  that  du- 
ring this  meeting  they  forbear  all  discourse  and  agitation  of  any  matter  as 
may  provoke  and  disturb  the  spirits  of  each  other,  and  at  the  issue  of  the 
work  that  they  repayre  to  their  severall  vocations  as  they  will  answer  to  the 
contrary."  The  result  was  86  votes  for  Mr.  Chauncey's  continuance,  and  52 
against  it.  Jan.  12,  1667-8,  Mr.  Chauncey  made  public  declaration  of  his 
faith  in  Christian  principles,  and  the  manner  of  God's  working  on  his  soul. 

§  There  is  a  mistake  in  the  note  on  page  86,  owing  to  not  allowing  for  the  difference 
of  reckoning  in  Old  Style.  The  Church  in  Windsor  was  formed  "in  the  beginning 
of  the  year,"  that  is  in  March,  at  Plymouth,  England,  just  before  their  embarkation ; 
and  the  Church  in  Wethersfield  not  till  the  f  ebruary  after,  1630-31. 


512  History  of  the  Churches. 

The  minority  were  dissatisfied,  and  the  court  authorized  such  as  could  not 
close  with  Mr.  Chauncey,  to  procure  an  orthodox  minister,  such  as  the  court 
will  approve,  and  the  Church  to  settle  Mr.  Chauncey. 

Mr  Chauncey  and  Mr.  Woodbridge,  continued  to  minister  to  their  separate 
Churches  until  1680,  when  the  court  directed  that  both  be  dismissed,  and 
the  second  Church  disband  and  unite  with  the  first.  The  difficulty  was 
kept  up  two  or  three  years  longer,  the  First  Church  urging  that  those  who 
'had  made  a  profession  in  the  Second  Church  should  undergo  an  examination 
by  the  first  Church  before  being  received.  This  point  was  finally  yielded  to 
the  First  Church,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Mather  settled  over  the  united  Church. 

In  1685  there  was  a  powerful  revival   and  about  30  added  to  the  Church. 

And  now  as  to  the  evidence*  that  the  Church  in  Hartford  was  on  the 
ground  before  the  Church  in  "Windsor.  This,  to  say  the  least,  is  not  positive. 
The  early  records  of  the  Windsor  Church  are  not  as  entire  as  those  of  the 
Hartford  Church.  Here  lies,  as  we  think,  the  main  difficulty.  The  evidence 
is  decisive  that  the  Church  in  Dorchester  started  for  its  destination  in  Wind- 
sor, several  months  prior  to  the  removal  of  the  Newtown  Church  to  Hart- 
ford. (See  Stiles' 8  History  of  Windsor,  p.  28.)  The  presumption  there- 
fore is,  that  they  were  first  on  the  ground.  And  Dr.  Hawes  does  not  furnish 
any  historic  proof  that  such  was  not  the  fact.  He  does  indeed  assert,  on 
the  authority  of  Trumbull,  that  Mr.  Warham  did  not  come  to  Windsor  till 
September,  1636.  But  this  statement  of  Trumbull  is  more  than  balanced  by 
counter  statements,  which  affirm  that  Mr.  A^arham,  with  his  Church,  had  re- 
moved to  Windsor  prior  to  April,  1636.  (Life  of  Richard  Mather.)  As 
early  as  April  of  this  same  year,  an  attempt  was  made  to  form  a  new  Church 
in  Dorchester,  because,  as  Mather  says,  the  Church  which  was  first  planted 
in  that  place  had  removed  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Warham,  to  Connecticut. 
Here  then  is  presumptive  evidence  that  they  were  first  on  the  ground.  They 
had  left  Massachusetts  ;  where  were  they  if  not  in  Connecticut? 

Besides,  it  is  in  evidence  that  Matthew  Grant,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Church  at  Windsor,  was  there  in  1635,  and  it  may  be  inferred  from  the  record 
(See  note  p.  635,  Stiles1  s  History  of  Windsor,)  that  he  was  permanently  set- 
tled there,  and  that  he  was  not  alone.  Some  think  that  Mr.  Warham  was 
there  at  that  time.  See  note  p.  25  as  above. 

Unless,  therefore,  proof  positive  can  be  produced,  showing  that  the  Wind- 
sor Church  did  not  reach  its  destination  prior  to  June,  1636,  we  must  consid- 
er the  claims  of  the  Windsor  Church  as  valid  against  all  others.  Compare 
with  Dr.  Hawes's  address,  page  85. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Jonathan  Marsh,  Abel  Stiles,  Daniel  Marshall, 
(Bap.)  Abraham  Marshall, (Bap.)  Eliakim  Marshall,  Joseph  Marshall,  Jedediah 
Mills,  Hezekiah  Bissell,  Solomon  Wolcott,  Samuel  Chauncey,  Allyn  Mather, 
Henry  A.  Rowland,  James  Rowland,  Oliver  W.  Mather. 

*Sp.  An.  1.  11.    Allen.      Math.  Mag.  399.     tSp.  An.  1.  114.  263.      J  Allen. 


History  of  the  Churches.  613 

The  Second  Church  in  Windsor,  Org.  1669. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Benjamin  Woodbridge,  1668  1680 

A  division  arose  in  the  First  Church  with  reference  to  the  settlement  of 
Mr.  Chauncey;  the  minority  seceding  and  calling  Mr.  Woodbridge,  ap- 
plied May  18,  1668,  to  the  General  Court  for  their  approbation,  which  then 
took  cognizance  of  all  such  matters.  "  The  Court  declare  that  they  shall  not 
disapprove  of  Mr  Woodbridge's  continuance  as  a  lecturer  there,  and  recom- 
mend that  the  Church  of  Mr.  VVarham  permit  him  to  preach  once  a  fortnight 
on  the  Sabbath."  May  Idth,  "Mr.  Warham  inquires  whether  members  of 
the  Church  are  included  in  the  order  that  granted  liberty  for  choosing  Mr. 
Woodbridge,"  and  received  an  affirmative  answer.  In  1669,  "  The  Court  see 
not  cause  to  deny  liberty  to  those  dissenters  to  embody  themselves  in  a 
church  state."  Mr.  Woodbridge  was  dismissed  in  1680  by  order  of  Court, 
and  this  church  disbanded  to  unite  with  the  First  Church. 


THE  CHURCH  ix  WINDSOR  LOCKS,  ORG.  FEB.  28,  1844. 
Samuel  II.  Allen,  April,  1846 

This  cliurch  was  organized  with  fifteen  members,  mostly  from  the  First 
Church  in  Windsor.  It  has  enjoyed  but  one  season  of  revival,  in  1857  and 
1858;  the  fruits  43  members.  Its  place  of  worship  was  at  first  a  small 
chapel,  built  in  1834,  in  which  public  worship  and  a  Sabbath  school  were  reg- 
ularly sustained  from  that  time.  The  church  edifice,  now  occupied,  was  built 
in  1846,  and  dedicated  March  17,  1847. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  ix  WIXSTED,  IN  WINCHESTER,  ORG.  1790. 
Ezra  Woodworth,  Jan.      1792  1799 

James  Beach,*  Jan.      1806  1842  June,  1850 

T.  M.  Dicight,  1842  1844 

Ira  Pettibone,  Jan.      1846  1854 

Henry  A.  Russell,  April,    1854  1858 

Situated  in  a  prosperous  and  enterprising  manufacturing  village,  at  the 
terminus  of  the  Naugatuck  Railroad,  this  church  had  so  increased  as  to  af- 
ford materials  for  a  colony  in  1854,  and  thus  was  formed  the  church  in 
West  Winsted,  which  is  also  well  sustained.  There  have  been  several  revi- 
vals, the  most  extensive  in  1816,  adding  112,  and  in  1848,  adding  52  mem- 
bers. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Samuel  Rockwell,  Lumas  H.  Pease,  John  W.  Al- 
vord,  Willard  Burr,  Jonathan  Coe.  (Ep.) 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  819.    Litchf.  Centen.  128. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  WOLCOTT,  (FORMERLY  FARMIXGBURY,)  ORG.  Nov.  15,  1773. 
Alexander  Gillett,*  Dec.     1773  Nov.    179.1  Jan.     1826 

Israel  B.  Woodward,  June,  1792  181Q 

66 


514  History  of  the  Churches. 

JCIEISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Thomas  Rich,  1811  1812 

Lucas  Hart,  1812  1813 

John  Keyes,  Sept.    1814 

Erastm  Scranton,  1827 

James  D.  Chapman,  1833 

Aaron  C.  Beach,  1842 

Stephen  Rogers,  May,    1859 

Wolcott  was  originally  the  Society  of  Farmingbury,  situated  between 
Farmington  and  Waterbury,  and  taking  its  name  by  a  combination  usual  in 
the  early  formation  of  Connecticut  societies.  In  the  vacancy  of  1824  to 
1833,  there  were  supplies  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Vaill,  Gay  lord,  Shaw,  Sackett 
and  others,  but  the  dates  are  not  preserved.  Being  a  rural  and  hill  town, 
with  but  indifferent  encouragement  to  agriculture,  the  young  men  of  en- 
ergy and  enterprise,  leave  to  build  up  the  cities  and  villages ;  reducing  the 
church  to  a  state  of  dependence  in  the  support  of  the  gospel.  The  revival 
of  1853,  however,  brought  a  considerable  accession,  mostly  of  the  young,  to 
the  church,  and  rendered  its  spiritual  state  very  desirable.  Rel.  Intel.  13. 
398. 

*  Sp.  An.  2.  68.    Allon.    Litchf.  Centen.  80  ;  Memoir  by  Rev.   Luther  Hart,  1826. 


THE  CHURCH  is  WOLCOTTVILLE,  IN  TORRINGTON,  ORG.  JULY,  1832. 

H.  P.  Arms,  Feb.     1833  July,  1836 

Stephen  Hubbell,  Feb.     1837  Sept.  1839 

Samuel  Day,  Sept.    1840  June,  1845 

S.  T.  Seelye,  Jan.      1846  Mar.    1855 

Ralph  Smith,  April,  1856  Sept.   1857 

E.  L.  Clark,  1857?  1859 

R.  JI.  Chipman,  July,    1859 

This  church  at  first  comprised  29  members  ;  58  others  were  afterwards 
received  by  the  first  pastor  ;  19  by  the  second ;  61  by  the  third ;  and  90  by 
the  fourth.  This  church  has  suffered  the  fluctuations  usual  to  churches  in 
manufacturing  villages. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  WOODBRIDGE,  (FORMERLY  AMITY,)  ORG.  Nov.  2,  1742. 
Benjamin  Woodbridge,*         Nov.    1742  Dec.    1785 

Eliphalet  Ball,  Dec.     1783  1790  1797 

David  L.  Beebee,  Feb.     1791  Mar.    1800 

Claudius  Herrick,t  Mar.    1802  Sept.  1806  1831 

Jason  Allen,  April,  1810  April,  1826 

Prince  Hawes,  Dec.     1828  April,  1834 

Walter  K.  Long,  Oct.     1837  Sept.  1841 

Samuel  H.  Elliot,  Sept  1842,  ord.  NOT.  1843     Dec.    1849 
Owen  Street,  Dec.    1850  May,  1852 

1 


History  of  the  Churches.  515 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Alfred  C.  Raymond,  Oct.     1852  Dec.    1855 

Jesse  Guernsey,  May,    1856  Oct     1857 

Alexander  D.  Stowell,  Nov.    1858  April,  1860 

The  ecclesiastical  society  in  Amity,  (including  Bethany,  till  1762,)  was 
formed,  in  1737,  (after  petitioning  twenty  years,)  from  the  north-west  part 
of  the  town  of  New  Haven,  with  the  addition  of  "one  mile  and  six  score 
rods  in  width  "  from  the  north-east  part  of  Milford ;  and  in  length,  from  an 
east  and  west  line  about  four  miles  north  of  the  State  House,  to  Waterbury 
line.  The  town  was  formed  with  the  same  bounds  in  1784,  and  named  in 
honor  of  its  first  minister  ;  and  Bethany  Society  became  a  town  in  1832.  In 
Jan.  1782,  this  church  voted  that  its  government  should  be  agreeable  to  the 
Congregational  plan  ;  and  in  Jan.  1801,  it  united  with  the  New  Haven  West 
Consociation.  A  separate  religious  society  was  formed  by  Methodists  about 
1833,  which  continued  but  a  few  years.  Besides  this,  there  has  been  no 
other  religious  organization  within  the  present  bounds  of  the  society  and 
town.  The  church  has  for  long  periods,  in  the  intervals  of  pastorates,  been 
supplied  from  Yale  Theological  Seminary.  There  have  been  several  revivals ; 
the  one  in  1858,  when  the  Church  was  without  a  pastor,  adding  60  to  its 
membership.  Rel,  Intel.  5.  521. 

The  house  of  worship  was  built  in  1832,  and  repaired  in  1860. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — L.  S.  Parsons,  Artemas  Hull. 
*  Allen,     t  Bel.  Intel.  16.  15. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  WOODBUHT,  ORG.  MAY  5,  1670. 

Zechariah  Walker,*          1668  ord.  1670  Jan.    1700 

Anthony  Stoddard,t  1702  1760 

Noah  Benedict,^  1760  1813 

Worthington  Wright,  1811  1813 

Henry  P.  Strong,  1814  1816 

Samuel  R.  Andrew,§  1817  1846  1858 

Lucius  Curtis,  1846  1854 

Robert  G.  Williams,  1855  July,  1859 

This  church  was  organized  as  the  Second  Church  in  Stratford.  It  had 
separated  from  the  original  church,  some  years  before,  on  the  "  Half- Way 
Covenant"  question.  A  new  location  was  sought,  and  in  May,  1672,  a  grant 
for  a  township  of  land  was  obtained  for  this  church  at  Pomperaug,  the  In- 
dian name  of  the  river.  Early  the  next  year,  a  majority  of  the  members 
removed  to  this  place,  and  became  the  First  Church  in  Woodbury. 

Mr.  Walker  ministered  to  both  portions  of  his  church  till  June  27,  1678, 
when  he  took  up  his  abode  permanently  in  Woodbury.  The  church  main- 
tained the  half-way  covenant  system  till  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Benedict 

The  limits  of  the  original  and  first  church  embraced  the  present  towns  of 
Bethlem,  Washington,  Roxbury,  Southbury,  and  a  portion  of  Middlebury. 
and  the  churches  in  those  towns  were  formed  from  this.  The  ministry  of 


516  History  of  the  Churches. 

the  first  three  pastors,  with  little  interval,  covered  a  period  of  143  years. 
By  its  eight  pastors,  1410  persons  have  been  gathered  into  its  fold.  It  has 
had  three  different  houses  of  worship,  and,  in  1857,  remodeled  its  present 
house  at  an  expense  of  $4,200.  See  History  of  Woodbury  ;  also  Bi-centen- 
nary,  1859. 

There  is  within  its  history  abundant  evidence  of  the  covenant  keeping 
mercy  of  God.  Some  of  its  original  office  bearers  have  had  one  or  more  of 
their  descendants  to  represent  them  in  the  office,  without  a  break  in  the 
succession  to  the  present  time.  The  present  condition  of  many  families  is 
a  living  testimony  to  the  covenant  faithfulness  of  God — to  those  who  ob- 
serve the  rite  of  infant  baptism. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Ephraim  Judson,  Adoniram  Judson,  Philo  Jud- 
son,  Samuel  Judson, ||  Everton  Judson,  Justus  Mitchell,  Thomas  Miner,  An- 
son  S.  Atwood. 

*  Allen.  Litchf.  Centen. 73-75.  tSp.  An.  1,  173.  Allen.  Litchf.  Ccnten.  73,  75. 
J  Sp.  An.  1,  407.  Allen.  Litchf.  Centen.  73,  75.  §  Cong.  Y.  Book,  6,  118.  t  Men- 
don  Asaoc.  138. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  WOODSTOCK,  ORG.  1686. 

MINISTERS.  SETTLED.  DISMISSED.  DIED. 

Josiah  Dwight,  1686  1726 

Amos  Throop,  1727  1736 

Abel  Stiles,*  1737  1759  1783 

Abiel  Leonard,  1763  1777  1780 

Eliphalet  Lyman.t  1779  1824  1836 

R.  S.  Crampton,  1827  1830 

W.  M.  Cornell,  1831  1834 

Otis  Rockwood,  1834  1843 

Jonathan  Curtis,  1846  1852 

Henry  M.  Colton,  1853  1855 

Lemuel  Grosvenor,  1855  1860 

This  church  originated  with  a  company  of  settlers  from  Roxbury,  Mass, 
parishioners  of  Rev.  John  Eliot  The  church  enjoyed  numerous  revivals  of 
religion  during  the  pastorates  of  Mr.  Lyman,  Mr.  Rockwood  and  Mr.  Cur- 
tis, and  in  1858,  shared  in  the  general  shower  of  divine  grace. 

Three  houses  of  worship  have  been  built  since  the  organization  of  this 
church.  The  present  one  was  built  in  1821,  at  a  cost  of  $4,000,  and  was 
repaired  and  remodeled  inside  in  1858  This  church  was  governed  under 
the  Cambridge  Platform  till  1815,  when  they  joined  the  Consociation  of 
Windham  County. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  UP. — Ezra  Ripley,  D.  n.,J  Thomas  R  Chandler,  D.  D., 
Jedediah  Morse,  n.  r>.,||  James  Davis,  Abiel  Holmes,  D.  D.T  Lucien  Burleigh, 
Newton  Barrett,  Charles  Burleigh,  Anthony  Palmer,  George  Webber,  Sam- 
uel Palmer.  George  Bugbee,  John  Bowers,  Ralph  Lyon. 

*  Sp.  An.  1. 470.    Allen,    t  Allen,    J  Allen.    §  Allen,    j  Sp.  An.  2.  247.    ^  Sp.  An- 


APPENDIX. 


CHURCHES  WITH  DIFFERENT  SOCIETY  NAMES  AND  POST  OFFICE 
ADDRESSES  FROM  THOSE  OF  THE  TOWNS  IN  WHICH  THEY 
ARE  LOCATED. 


Ashford,  Westford. 
Avon,  (West  Avon  P.  0.) 

K;ist  Avon,  (Avon  P.  O.) 
Barkhamsted,  Hitchcockville. 
Berlin,  Kensington. 
Bozrah,  Bozrahville,  Fitchville. 

(B.  P.  0.) 
Canaan,  (So.  Canaan  P.  0.) 

Falls  Village. 

Canterbury,  Westminster. 
Canton,  (C.  Center  P.  0.,)  Collinsville. 
Chatham,  Ea<t  Hampton. 

.Middle  Haddam. 
Colchester,  Westchester. 
Colebrook,  (C.  Center  P.  0.) 
Cornwall,  North  Cornwall. 
Coventry,  South,  (C.  P.  0.) 

North  Coventry. 
Darien,  (D.  Depot,  P.  0.) 
Derby,  Birmingham,  Ansonia. 
Durham  Center,  (P.  O.) 
East   Haddam,  Millington,  Hadlyme. 
East  Haven,  Fair  Haven,  (2d.) 
East  Lyme,  (Niantic  P.  0.) 
East  Windsor,  Broad  Brook. 
Essex,  Centerbrook. 
Fairfield,  Greenfield,  (G.  Hill  P.  0.) 

Southport,  Black  Rock. 
Farmington,  Plainville,  Unionville. 
Glastenbury,  East   Glastenbury,  (G. 

P.  0.)     South  Glastenbury. 
Greenwich  1st.  (Mianus  P.  0.,)  Stan- 

wich,  North  Greenwich. 
Griswold,  (J.  C.  P.  0  )  Jewett  City. 
Guilford,  North  Guilford. 
Haddam,  Higganum. 
Hamden,  Mt.  Carmel. 

East  Plain,  (VVhitneyville  P.  0.) 
Hartland,  West  Hartland. 
Hebron,  Gilead. 
Killingly,  West  Killingly,  South  Kil- 

lingly,  Dayville. 


Lebanon,  Goshen,  (L.  P.  0.)  Exeter, 

(L.  P.  0.) 
Lisbon,  (Jewett  City  P.  O.) 

Hanover,  (Lord's  Bridge  P.  0.) 
Litchtteld,  Northfield,  Milton. 
Lyme,  Hamburg,  Grassy  Hill. 
Madison,  North  Madison. 
Manchester,  M.  2d,  (M.  Station  P.  0.) 
Mansfield,  (M.  Center  P  0.) 

North  Mansfield,  (M.  P.  O.) 
Meriden  1st,  (West  Meriden  P.  O.) 

Hanover,  (W.  Meriden  P.  O.) 
Middletovvn,  Westfield,  (M.  P.  0.) 

Middlefield. 

Montville,  Mohegan,  (Norwich  P.  0.) 
New  Hartford  North,  (N.  H.  P.  0.) 
New   Hartford  South,  (N.  H.  Center 

P.  O.) 
New  Haven,  Fair  Haven   (1st,)    Fair 

Haven  (Center,)    Westville. 
North  Bran  ford,  Northford. 
North  Canaan,  (East  C.  P.  0.) 
Norwich  1st,  (Norwich  Town  P.  0.) 

Greeneville. 

Old  Lyme,  (Lyme  P.  0.) 
Old  Saybrook,  (Saybrook  P.  0.) 
Orange,  West  Haven. 
Plainfield,    Central   Village,    Waure- 

gan,  (C.  V.  P.  0.) 
Plymouth,  Plymouth  Hollow,  Terry- 

ville. 

Pomfret,  Abington. 
Putnam,  East  Putnam,  (P.  P.  0.) 
Ridgefield,  Ridgebury,  (Ridgefield  P. 

O.) 

i  Sharon,  Ellsworth. 
JSouthbury,  South  Britain. 
South  Windsor,  S.  W.  2d,  (Buckland 

P  0.)    Church  of  Theological  In- 
stitute, (East  Windsor  Hill  P.  0  ) 
Stafford,     West     Stafford,     Stafford 
I        Springs,  Staffordville. 


518 


Appendix. 


Stamford,    North     Stamford,      Long 

Ridge. 
Stonington,  2d  ;  (S.  1st,  M.  B.  P.  0.,) 

Mystic  Bridge. 
Suffield,  West  Suffield, 
Torrington,  Torringford,  Wolcottville. 
Vernon,  Rockville  1st  and  2d. 
Voluntown  and  Sterling,   (Collamer 

P.  0.) 
Washington,  New  Preston. 

New  Preston  Hill,  (N.  P.  P.  0.) 
Westport,  Green's  Farms,  (  W.  P.  0.) 


Wethersfield,  Newington. 

Willington,  (West  Willington  P.  0.) 

Winchester  Center,  (P.  0.)  Winsted, 
West  Winsted. 

Windham,  Willimantic. 

Windsor,  Poquonnoc. 

Woodbridge,  (WestvilleP.  0.) 

Woodbury,    North    Woodbury,  (W. 
P.  0.) 

Woodstock  (So.)  East  Woodstock. 
West  Woodstock,  North  Wood- 
stock. 


EARLY  THEOLOGICAL  EDUCATION,  CONTINUED  PROM  PAGE  296. 

In  the  first  generation  of  New  England  history,  several  ministers, 
who  afterwards  became  in  various  degrees  distinguished,  appear  to 
have  been  trained,  in  part,  under  the  teaching  of  Thomas  Hooker 
and  Samuel  Stone,  at  Hartford.  Whether  any  other  pastors  in  the 
Connecticut  and  New  Haven  colonies  at  that  period,  gave  special 
instruction  to  candidates  for  the  ministry,  is  less  clearly  indicated. 

The  names  of  some  of  the  pastors  who,  since  the  "  Great  Awaken- 
ing" of  1740,  have  served  as  theological  instructors,  are  given  in 
the  brief  paper  on  Early  Theological  Education,  pp  296,  297  ;  to 
those  names  the  following  may  be  added. 

Rev,  Joel  Benedict,  D.  D.,  Plainfield. 

Calvin  Chapin,  D.  D.,  Rocky  Hill. 

Rev.  Timothy  Dwight,  D.  D.,  Greenfield  ;  New  Haven. 

Rev.  David  Ely,  D.  D.,  Huntington. 

Rev.  Elizur  Goodrich,  D.  D.,  Durham. 

Rev.  Nathan  Perkins,  D.  D.,  West  Hartford. 

Rev.  Bezaleel  Pinneo,  Milford. 

Rev.  Cyprian  Strong,  D.  D.,  Portland. 

Rev.  Nathan  Strong,  D.  D.,  Hartford. 

Rev.  Josiah  Whitney,  D.  D.,  Brooklyn. 


THE      NAMES     OP     THE    FOLLOWING     "HALF     CENTURY     MINISTERS." 
SHOULD    BE   ADDED    TO   THE   LIST    ON   PAGES     289-295. 

Asa  Burton,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Stonington,    .  .  .  Thetford,  Yt.  59 

Jedediah  Bushnell,  .  .  .  n.  Saybrook,  .  .  .  Cornwall,   Vt.  53 

Joseph  Coit,  .  .  .  Plainfield,  52 


Appendix.  519 

Timothy  M.  Cooley,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Lie.  N.  H.  E.,  .  .  .  Granville, 

Mass., 65 

Manasseh  Cutler,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  East  Putnam,  .  .  .  Hamilton,  Mass.,  52 
Timothy  Cutler,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Stratford,  .  .  .  Pros.  Y.  C. ;  became 

Ep.  56 

Gordon  Dorrance,  .  .  .  Voluntown,  52 

Joseph  Fish,  . .  .  North  Stonington,  49 

Jabez  Fitch,  .  . .  n.  Norwich,    .  .  .  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  52 

Eliphalet  Gillett,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Colchester,    .  .  .  Hallowell,  Me.,  54 

John  Griswold,  .  .  .  n.  Lebanon,    .  .  .  Pawlet,  Vermont,  60 

John  Keep,  .  .  .  Lie.  Litchfield  N.,  .  .  .  Ohio?  living,  55 

Caleb  Knight,  .  .  .  n.  Lisbon,    .  .  .  Berkshire  Co.,  Mass.,  52 
Joseph  Lathrop,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Norwich ,  .  .  .  West  Springfield, 

Massachusetts,  66 
John  Marsh,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Haddam,  .  .  .  New  York  ;  living  51 
Joseph  Marshall,  .  .  .  (Sep.)  .  .  .  Canterbury,  54 
ASH  Meech,  .  .  .  Canterbury,  .  .  .  Canada,  50 
James  Murdock,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Westbrook,  .  .  .  Andover,  Mas- 
sachusetts ;  New  Haven,  55 
Roger  Newton,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  u.  Durham,  .  .  .  Greenfield,  Mass.,  55 
Isaac  Porter,  .  .  .  Granby,  50 
John  Prudden, .  .  .  n.  Milford,  .  .  .  Long  Island,  (see  Allen.)  55 
Ezra  Ripley,  .  .  .  n.  Woodstock.  <53 
David  S.  Rowland,  ....  Granby  ;  Plainfield  ;  Windsor,  50 
Samuel  Shepard,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  n.  Portland,  .  .  .  Lenox,  Mass.  52 
Thomas  Snell,  D.  D.,  .  .  .  Lie.,  Tolland, ....  North  Brookfield, 

Massachusetts,  living,  63 
Joseph  Sumner,  D.  D.,  . .  .  n.  Pomfret,  .  .  .  Shrewsbury,  Mass.,  62 
Ezra  Weld,  .  .  .  n.  Pomfret,  .  .  .  Lie.  W.  .  .  .  Braintree,  Mass.  54 
Elisha  S.  Williams,  . . .  (Bap.)  .  .  .  n.  East  Hartford,  .  .  .  Bev- 
erly, Mass.,  65 
Solomon  Williams,  Jr.,  .  .  .  n.  East  Hartford,  . . .  Northampton, 

Mass.,  56 

Payson  Williston,  . .  .  n.  West  Haven,  .  .  .  Easthampton,  Mass.,  67 


ERRATA. 


The  Committee  exceedingly  regret  that  many  errors  have  crept  into  a  work  that 
they  had  hoped  to  make  entirely  accurate.  Their  excuse  must  be  the  impracticability 
of  their  giving  that  personal  superintendence  to  the  press  which  would  have  been  de- 
sirable. 


Page  17,  line  28,  read  16.'fi. 
Pa#e  32.  line  5,  read  Scriptures. 
"    34,    "    17,  read  1680. 
"    47,    "    22,  rend  Arminianism. 
"    73,    "    19,     "  Mr.  Warham. 
"    83,    "      2,    "  Rev.  Theodore  D. 
Woolsey,  D.  D. 

Page  146,  line  45,  read  Thos.  K.  Fessenden 
48     146,    "  49,     "  1859,  Norwich,  S.  W 
S.  Dutton,   D.  D.,  A.  S.  Chesebrough 
Jeremiah  Taylor,  Enoch  F.  Burr. 
Page  148,  line  34,  read  solicit. 
"    154,    "  10,     "  William  F.  Arms. 
"       "     "  37,    "  State. 
"        "      "  39,     "  States,  et  pasoim. 
"    155,     "    4,     "  Mr.  Hanover  Bradley. 
"       '•       "    7,    "  David  Brainerd. 
Page  155,  line  28,  read  E.  C.,  E.  Haddam, 
Osages. 

"      "    "    44,  read  Mr.  Stephen  Fuller, 
E.  H.,  Osages. 

Page  156,  line  48,  read  Whitney  ville. 
'?    157,     "    10,     "    Mrs.    D'wight     W. 
Marsh. 

"      "        "    28,  read  Mrs.  Munger. 
"      "       "   31,    "Rev. Samson Occum. 

"  Rockville. 

"  H.  C.,  New  York. 

"  western  boundary. 

"  Norfield  in  Westbn. 

"  1846. 

"  to  be  aided. 

"  1763. 

"  have  precluded. 

"  Fairfield  West, 

"  Roswell  R.  Swan. 

"  Fairfield  West, 

"  Samuel  R.  Andrew. 

"  218— own  119. 

"  $826,  980,  34. 

"  become. 

"  erase  in 

"  than,  for  that. 

"    Congregational,  for 


"  1751. 

"   Sandisfield. 
263,     «    39,  "    N.  E.  Vol.  xi.  p.  195. 
283,     "      1,  "  Rogerenes;  do  line  25. 
285,    "    19,  "  were   not  tinctured. 

290,  "    14,  "  Joel  Bordwell. 

"       "    43,  "  *  Sp.  An.,  3,  102. 

291,  "    18,  "  Nathanael  Euimons. 
11      "    30,  "  Torrington. 

"       "    33,  "  Southbury. 


(( 

158,     "  21, 

II 

169,      "  16, 

M 

176,     "  36, 

H 

178,      4'  37, 

II 

184,     "    6, 

II 

190, 

'  33, 

If 

199, 

'  12, 

U 

204, 

'     6, 

M 

207, 

'34, 

<( 

" 

'  37, 

( 

219, 

4  18, 

1 

220, 

'37, 

( 

231,       '  18, 

1 

"        "  37, 

i 

238,      "  11, 

( 

246,      "    2, 

( 

247,      "  17, 

t 

254,      "  23, 

Presbyterian. 
»ge  256,  line,  2, 

294, 

295, 
296, 
297, 
300, 


Page  292,  line  10.  change  t  to  next  line. 

s      "      "     18,  read  Huntington,  L.  Isl. 
Page  293,  line,  13,  "  n.  Ashford. 
'7      «•      "     28,   "  Bezaleel  Pinneo. 

36,  "  X.Jersey  for  N.York 
45,  "  New  Haven,  N.  York. 
29,  "  New  Haven. 
19,  '•  Lie.  Windham. 
80,  "  were,  for  was. 
24,  "  distinguished. 
«w,          11,  "  N.  T.,  1747;  line  18, 
read   H.    Gold,  Jr.  ;    line   21,    22,   read 
March   29,   1758;  line  30,   read  N.   A. 
Hewit  became  a  Roman  Catholic. 
Page  303,  line  30,  read  William  Brcntnal 
Ripley;  line  32,  era«e  May  26;  line  38, 
read 'Andrew   Elliot.    Jr.',  May,    1803; 
line  42,  read  Orrin  Fowler,  Oct.  1817  ; 
also  Bronson  B.  Beardsley. 
Page  304,  line  36,  rend  HARTFORD  NORTH. 
"    395,     "    22,  "  there  is  need,  for  their. 
"     308,     "       2,  "  1745. 
"    309,    "    14,  "   Roswell    R.    Swan; 
line  23,  George  I.  Stearns. 
Page  311,  line  55,  read  Elijah  Gridley. 
Page  314,  line    7}  read  straitened  ;  line  18, 

read  its,  for  this. 

Page  316,  line  39,  read  sympathized  with. 
"  317,  "  31,  Northfield  has  since 
withdrawn. 

Page  317,  line  33,  read,  since  returned. 
"    820     "    26,     "  Edward  L.  Wells. 
"      "      "    34,     "  Carlos  C.  Cariitnter. 
"    321,    "    24,  read  article. 
"    324,     "    37,    read  Aaron  Hall ;  line 
50  read,  Bezel  Cook. 
Page  325,  line  20,  read  Guernsey  Brown. 
"     326,     "    13,  read  Samuel  I.  Curtiss. 
"    326,     "     23,  read  John  J.  Avery. 
"    326,  "    44,   read   Irem   W.    Smith  ; 
line  53,  read  Pliny  F.  Warner. 
Page  331,  line    5,  read  Carroll  Cutler. 

334,  line  31,  read  H.  Porter;  line  23, 
read   David   R.  Austin ;  line  34,  read 
William    Barnes;    line    51,  read  La- 
vius  Hyde. 
Page  335,  line  15,  read  During,  for  From. 
336,    "    41,  read    Israel   Brainerd ; 
line  47,  read  Joel  F.  Bingham. 
Page  337.  line    1,  WINDHAM  ASSOCI- 
ATION. 

Page  343,   line  8,  read   J.  H.,  died  Nov. 
1742;     "    9,  read  J.  B.,  settled  Sept. 
1743  ;    "    22,  read  Hale,  at  first  £40. 
Page   344,   "     10,  W.  S.  W.,  dismissed 
1858  ?    "    14,  read  to  April  1. 


Errata. 


521 


Page  345,  line  17,  read  William  Goodwin. 

line  27,  read  Evan  Johns. 
Page  346,  line  8,  read  Andrew  T.  Pratt  ; 

line   33,  E.    W.    R.,   dismissed   Aug. 

1860. 
Page  347,  line  15,  read  8.  S.,  settled  April, 

1805. 
Page  349,  line  16,  read  FORMERLY  "Wrarox- 

BURY  :  line  24,  read  Daniel  Gibbs  ;  line 

37,  erase  died  April,  1830. 
Page  351.  line  13,  read  William  M.  Bireli- 

ard;  line  18,  read  FORMERLY  NKWBUSY  ; 

line  33,  read  FORMERLY  POMFRET,  2n. 
Page  350—35-2,    Bristol,     Broad     Brook, 

Brookfield,  Brooklyn,  and  Burlington, 

should  follow  Bridgeport  2d,  p.  857. 
Page  353,  line  2,  read  BOZRAH,  NEW  CON- 

CORD SOCIETY;  line  23,  read  Jedediah 

L.  Stark  :  line  38,  read  Nathaniel   Mi- 

ner, also  354,  line  1  ;  line  30,  read  Eo- 

dolphus  Landfear. 
Page   3~>5,  line  9,  Fosdick    Harrison,  also 

line  14  :  line  33,  read  J.  H.  H.,  settled 

Feb.  1839. 
Page  357,  line    2,  read  Raised  Up.  —  Gide- 

on Hawley  ;  line  13,  erase  dis.  March, 

1851'  :  line  22,  read  Nathaniel  A.  Hewit. 
Page  358,  line    4,  read   S.  E.,   died  June, 

1727;  line  M,  read    T.    J.   M.,  settled 

1821,  died  Dec.  l*2»i  ;  line  19,  read  O. 
- 


C.  W..  died  Oct. 


line  22,  Al>m- 


'  :  read.  a  *«\\.  pastor  in 
Millington  ;  line  30,  read  Voluntown. 
Page  3GO,  line  2,  read  PAUTAPAUG  ;  line  13, 
read  Henry  R.  Hoisington  ;  line  32, 
read  J.  B.,  settled  June,  1853  ;  line  34, 
read  (i.  II.,  dismissed  June,  I860  ;  line 
40,  read  CHAPLIN. 

Page  3i>"',  line  32,  read  Charles  Kittredgc. 

"     3»K    "     '-'4.    read    ORO.    JAN.    171.".  : 

line  25,  read  Joseph  Smith,  Jan.  1715. 

Page  389,  line  39,  read  Ebenezer  R.  White. 

"    370,    "      7,  read  S.  N.  H.  dismissed 

April,  1858. 
Page  377,  line  33,  read  S.  F.,  Lay  Mission- 

ary. 

Page  378,  line  5,  read  L.  H.  Pease,  ;  line 
6,  read  Henry  A.  Russell  ;  line  42. 
read  1806  ;  line  41,  read  J.  H.,  died 
1754. 

Page  379,  line  14,  E.  Mack,  see  p.   257  ; 
Page  380,  line  21,  read  E.  F.,  settled  Jan., 
1778;  line  35,  read  Erastus  Learned. 
"    381,    "'      5,  read  South    Windsor; 

line  36,  read  Died  July,  1783. 
Page  382,  line  27,  read  Died  April,  17  v,. 
*    883,  line  33,  read  Died  1756. 
"    384,    "     3,  read  than  that  of. 
"    385,    "  30,  Lyman  H.  Atwater,  D.  D. 
"    386,     "  40,  read  Timothy  Dwight,  lie. 

Sept.  1858. 
"    3s7,  line  4,  erase    "  lie  ;."    line  19, 

read  John-  Edgar,  lie. 
Page  388,  line  9,  read  in  1640. 

"     3'JO,    "    8,  read  Samuel  H.  Riddel  ; 
line  9,  read  James  A.  Smith;  line  10, 
read  Amos  S.  Chesebrough. 
Page  391,  line  4,  read  six  days;  line  31, 
read  Oct.  1766,  ord.  Sept.   1767. 


397,  line    24,  read 
line  17. 


Aitchison  ;  also 


Page  898,  line    5,  ORO.  Nov.  8,  1704  ;  line 

37,  read  I.  B.  settled  June,  1800. 
Page  399,  line  29,  read  1 
"    400,    "      7,  read  supposed  to  be  or- 

ganized 1675. 

Page  401,  line  4,  read  Henry  M.  Field  ; 
line  13.  read  G.  C.,  dismissed  Feb. 
1842  ;  line  19,  read  Nov.  1743  ;  line  29. 
read  erected  in  1743  ;  line  41,  reaa 
Philips  Payson. 

Page  402,  line  4,  read  James  D.  Moore. 
"    403,     "  11,  read  G.S.,  ord.  Oct.  1855, 

line  22.  read  Timothy  Stone. 
Page  404,  line  13,  read  J.  W.,  dis.  1669. 
"    405,     "  12,  read  T.  B.,  died  1731. 
"    407,    "  22,  read  Christian  Popp. 
"    408,    "  20,  read  George  E.  Pierce. 
"    411,    "  39,  read  T.  L.  S.,  May,  1842, 

inst.  April,  1843. 

Page  413,  line  3,  read  W.  W.  A.  dis.  May, 
1849  ;  line  4,  read  W.  W.  P.,  settled 
Dec.  1853,  dis.  1854;  line  17,  read 
Eden  Burroughs. 

Page  415,  line  31,  read  NORTH  GROTOX. 
"    416,  line  18,  read  Separate  ;  line  36, 

read  Daniel  L.  Carroll,  D.  D. 
Page  418,  line  11,  read  Qu.  Beg.  has  Ben- 

ajah  Phelps. 
Page  419,  line  87,  erase  (Ep.);  put  it  after 

T.  G.  S. 
Page  420,  line  38,  read  Matthew  Merriam  ; 

line  39,  read  Samuel  I.  Curtis. 
Page  422,  line  41,  read  Org.  Feb.  1,  1855. 

423,  "    17,  read  James  B.  Crane. 

424,  "    17,  read  Ahab  Jinks. 

425,  "    41,  read  J.  M.   S.  settled 
1851  ;  line  43  read  Wm.  C.  Scofleld. 

Page  426,  line  10,  read  Gov.  Jonathan  Law. 
'•    427,    "    2,  read  Mill  Plain. 

428,    "  39,  read  James  Kant  ;  also 
page  429,  line  3. 
Page  431,  line  10,  read  formally  dissolved. 
"    432,     "  43,  read  secular  purposes. 
'    434,    "    3,   read    Davenport,  1765  ; 
line  6,  read  probably  Abraham  Kettel- 
tas  ;  line  13,  read  H.   H.  M.,  settled 
May.  1840. 
Page  439,  line  36,  read  A.  G.  B.,  dis.  Jan. 

1858. 

Page  441,  line  40,  read  J.  G.  Hanmer.-D.  D. 
l7    443,    "  29,  read  T.  H.JBapt.)  Na- 

than B.  Derrow,  Charles  Thomi  - 
Page  446,  line  4,  read  WiUnun  II.   Whitte- 
more  ;  line  16,  read  J.  B.  settled  1725  ; 
line  24,  read  John  L.  Ambler. 
Page  447,  line  3,  read   admissions  ;  line  6, 
read  in  discipline  :  line  12,  read  from 
1817. 

Page  451,  line  9,  read  Joel  L.  Dickinson. 
Page  453,  line  32,  read  peutei-ostal. 

"    456,     "    7,  read  II".  Simptoit,  Clarke. 


458, 

459, 

field. 


36,  read  Benjamin  Lord,  D.D. 
26,  read  Zebediah  H.  Mans- 


Page 463,  line  23,  read  before  1699. 

'    465,    "   14,    read  E.  W..  1731,  ord. 

Oct.  1715  ;  line  37,  read  Abraham  Sa- 

biu,  John  Sabin. 
Page  466,  lines  21,  22,  23,  transfer  "dis- 

missed "  dates,  to  "  died." 


67 


522 


Errata. 


Page  469,  line  9,  read  N.  B.  died  Jan.  1810. 
"    470,  "  39,  read  J.  W.  R.,  dismissed 

Feb.  1856. 
Page  472,  line  7,  read  ORG.  AUG.  22, 1744  ; 

line  25,  read  RE-OKGANIZEU  MAT  15, 

1793. 
Page  474,  line  4,  read  E.  G.  W.,  died  May, 

1855 ;  line  5,  read  J.  F.,  settled  May, 

1811. 
Page  475,  line  24,  read  ORG.   MARCH  28, 

1744. 
Page  477,  lines  23,  24,  transpose  I.  Lewis 

and  S.  Camp ;  line  38,  read    William 

T.  Bacon. 
Page  479,  line  5,  read  David  L.  Ogden  ; 

line  42.  readE.  W.  died  1784. 
Page  480,  line  31,  read  Samnel  \V.  Whelp- 
ley. 
Page  481,  line  35,  read  M.  E.   July  1835, 

inst.  June,  1836. 
Page  482,  line  21,  read  G.  H.   W.,  1837, 

inst.  Jan.  1840. 

Page  483,  line  27,  read  John  L.  Avery. 
Page  484,  line  29,  read  Henry  G.  Jesup. 
"    485,     "    3,  transpose  DISMISSED  and 

SETTLED  ;  liue    29,   read    Joshua  K. 

Brown. 
"    486,     "    16,  read  Z.  W.,  was  pastor 

of  the   Second   Church,  that  removed 

to    Woodbury,    which  see.     Line  18, 

read  H.  G.,  settled  June,  1722. 
Page  489,  line  16,  read  in  1816 ;  line  30, 


erase  Gordon  Hall,  (f.)  also  add  Lev- 

erett  Griggs,  William  A.  Benton. 
Page  490,  line  16,  rend   Mr.    Goodman's  ; 

line    19,  read    Mr.  McKinstry'g ;  line 

33,  read  in  1773. 
Page  491,  line  6,  read  ORNORTH  STRATFORD, 

line  -27,  read  C.  H.,  June,  1749,  liue  34 

read  Samuel  1.  Curtiss. 
Page  493,  liue  27,  read  C.  Y.  B.,  1857,  p. 

87. 
Page  494,  line  29,  Sp.  An.  1.  689  ;  line  32, 

reference  from  S.  W.  is  *AlIen. 
Page  495,  line  28,  t  LitchfieldCenten.  119. 
Page  496,  line  7,  read  Jehu  Clark  ;  line  13, 

read  WATERBUKY — ORG.  1689. 
Page  499,  line  12,  read  Charles  E.  Mur- 

dock  ;  line  19,  read  E.   S.   E.,  dism., 

April,  1810. 
Page  500,  line  24,  read  A.  U.,  died  April, 

1858. 

Page  501,  line  33,  read  Adolphus  Ferry. 
"    502,  line    9,  read   Stephen  W.  Steb- 

bins ;  line  26,  add  David  H.  Williston; 

line  43.  add  Joseph  R.  Johnson. 

e  503,  line  2,  read  Nov.  20,  1770;  line 

18,  read   Zedekiah  S.  Barstow,  D.  D.  ; 

line   21,  erase   FORMERLY    NORFIELD  ; 

line  36,  read  Charles  A.  Boardman. 
Page  504,  line  13,  read  I.  F.  Died  1807. 
'?    509,  line  6.  read  C.  B.  B.,  settled  Jan. 

1858  ;  line  36,  read  Noble  Everett. 
510,  line  9,  read  G.    Ingersoll    S., 

Sept.  1852. 


TOPICAL    INDEX. 


Academical  Education  by  Congregation- 
alists,  248. 

Addresses  at  Celebration,  73 — 141. 

American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
first  meeting  of,  151.% 

Amherst  College,  292. 

Anabaptists,  Congregationalists  becom- 
ing, 338. 

Andover  Theological  Seminary,  496. 

Antinomianism,  first  Synod  to  resist  it,  14. 

Apostolical  succession,  the  true,  80. 

Artninians,  337,  343,  390-1,  426. 

Arms,  (Hiram  P.,)  on  Salaries,  226. 

Articles  of  discipline,  37. 

Association,  General,  40,  meetings,  52, 
142;  oppose  Whitfield,  53,  their  alle- 
gations against  him  true,  54  ;  on  Home 
Missions,  164,  176  ;  on  Temperance, 
214  ;  on  education,  249,  299. 

Associations,  District,  40,  on  Home  Mis- 
sions, 164,  176,  299,  303,  327,  business 
of,  304,  306,  308,  316,  320,328,335, 
337  ;  may  ordain,  310,  example  of  or- 
ganizing commended,  68,  71  ;  on  Tem- 
perance, 207,  209,  310,  299,  302,  303, 
314,  328,  339  ;  give  advice  about  can- 
didates, etc.,  348,  398,  450,  477. 

Associational  Compact,  306,  310. 

Associations,  voluntary,  135. 

Appeal  against  overturning  Consoc.  88. 

Assembly's  Catechism,  55,  317. 

Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  293. 

Awakening,  Great,  47,  52,  61,  55,  in- 
struments of,  197-9. 

Bacon  (David,)  missionary  to  Indians, 
167. 

Bacon,  (Leonard,)  Historical  Discourse, 
1-72. 

Bancroft,  (George,)  testimony  for  Cal- 
vinism, 78. 

Baptism,  by  Popiish  priest,  by  Separates, 
338. 

Baptists,  advantages  gained  from  Con- 
gregationalists, 70  ;  on  Temperance, 
212,  Churches,  262. 

Barrows,  (Elijah  P.)  on  Christian  Union, 
K)3. 

Beecher,  (Lyman,)  on  Temperance,  209, 
417. 


Bellamy,  (Joseph,)  in  Sabbath  School, 
191  ;  teacher  of  Theology,  297,  302, 
328  ;  not  dismissed  to  N.  Y.  316 

Benevolence  of  Churches,  91,  203;  con- 
tributions for  a  year,  203. 

Bethlem,  early  Sab.  School  in,  317, 191. 

Bible,  law  of  the  Church,  77  ;  in  educa- 
tion, 248;  Societies,  299,  310.  4 

Bishop,  Congregational  minister  ordain- 
ed, 409. 

Books  and  tracts  early  sent  from  Conn., 
168. 

Branford  controversy,  52,  322. 

Branford  pastor  hardly  dealt  with,  52. 

Brief  of  the  Governor,  62,  163,  317. 

Budington,  (William  I.)  on  Mission  of 
Congregational  Churches,  138. 

Brownism,  76. 

Business  of  Associations,  804,   306,  308,0 
316,  320.  328,  335,  337. 

Bushnell,  (Horace,)  and  Hartford  Fourth 
Association,  303. 

Calhoun,  (George  A.)  on  permanent 
funds,  233. 

Call  to  a  minister,  to  be  approved  by 
Association,  298,  313. 

Calvinism,  78,  239,  384,  479. 

Cambridge  platform,  14;  design,  errors 
of,  15;  principles,  26;  difference  from 
Saybrook,  36,  adopted,  392,  459,  473, 
481  ;  on  communion,  69. 

Camp,  (David  N.)  on  education,  248. 

Candidates,  called,  to  be  approved  by 
Association,  298,  313,  338  ;  examina- 
tion of  338. 

Catechism,  Assembly's,  55,  317. 

Catholic  Spirit  of  Congrega^jonalisU, 
67,  71,  94,  140;  not  suicidal,  94. 

Causes  of  declension  after  revival  of 
1740;  60,  198. 

Celebration  at  Norwich,  means  of 
arousing  confidence  in  Congregational 
system,  101. 

Chapin,  (Aaron  L.)  on  Puritan  pioneer- 
ing, 111. 

Charitable  societies,  802. 

Charity,  Christian,  results  to  Congrega- 
tionalism, 94  ;•  School,  148,  866. 

'Chapin,  (Calvin,)  OB  Temperance  209. 


Topical  Index. 


Christ  sole  Legislator,  his  word  the  law, 
his  Spirit  the  Life  of  the  Church,  73- 
81. 

Church,  Christ's  Spirit  the  Life  of,  79. 

Church  discipline,  13-15  ;  power  of,  104, 
vs.  minister  or  Church,  106. 

Church  establishment,  13,  14,  31,  37, 
227  ;  abolished,  62,  122. 

Church,  First  in  Conn.,  85,  512;  gave 
minister,  $1000  not  to  ask  dismis- 
sion, 482. 

Church  order,  given  in  Cambridge  plat- 
form, 15  ;  fellowship,  65,  70  ;  Christ's 
word  the  law  of,  75 ;  tendency  of 
Congregational  form  of,  80. 

Church  and  State,  63 ;  separated  by 
Christ,  103. 

Churches,  contributions  to  benevolent 
objects,  203;  injured  by  changing  min- 
istry, 239  ;  curious  votes  in,  326,  388, 
392> 

Churches  organized  in  England,  86  ;  di- 
vided, 343,  347  ;  backward  in  cooper- 
ation with  pastors,  91 ;  changeable 
about  ministry,  240 ;  should  take  mea- 
sures for  permanency,  245  ;  Separate, 
253,  280;  88  from  old  Hartford  N.  As- 
sociation, 308  ;  extinct,  332,  345,  see 
those  in  list,  in  Antique  or  black  let- 
ter heading  ;  connected  with  Presby- 
tery, 426,  449. 

^Churches  removed,  3,  73,  85,  130,  382, 
445,  457,  458,  507,  510 ;  re-organized, 
3,  10,  379,  354,  415,  422,  456  ;  need 
Sabbath  School,  192,  increased  by 
Sabbath  Schools,  196. 

Churches  opposed  to  half-way  covenant, 
19,  22.  23,  yielded  to  it,  29;  careful 
of  their  rights,  41 ;  communion  of,  65  ; 
aided  by  Missionary  society,  177, 
178. 

Circular  Fasts,  298. 

Collegiate  School,  2,  Rector  4, 5  ;  settled, 
47 ;  extent,  9. 

Communion  of  churches,  65,  66,  69,  70, 
Congregational,  80. 

Compact,  Associational,306,  310. 

Concert  of  prayer,  301,  302,  808,  328, 
338. 

Confederation  of  Churches,  40,  47,  67, 
example  of,  69. 

Conference  of  Churches,  69,  304,  in  a 
Church,  412. 

Confessions  of  Church  members  to  be 
public,  328,  338. 

Congregational  Polity,  64,  distinctive, 
93,  its  diffusion  a  duty,  94,  in  harmo- 
ny with  N.  T.,  103 ;  strong  enough  to 
promote  piety,  the  missionary  spirit, 
105,  sound  doctrine,  106,  oppose  na- 
tional sins,  107  ;  combines  individual 


and  united  action,  134,  influence  of, 
upon  the  character  of  the  State,  128. 

Congregationalism,  original,  25,  63,  67, 
76  ;  three  principles  of,  73,  has  dis- 
tinctive character,  93,  adapted  to  the 
West,  95  ;  in  harmony  with  Christian 
union,  103 ;  coasociated,  125  ;  ortho- 
doxy synonymous  with,  139. 

Congregationalists,  apostate,  our  re- 
proach, 99  ;  seek  popularity,  100  ;  on 
Temperance,  212  ;  in  relation  to  Pres- 
byterians, 260,  Baptists,  262,  Episco- 
palians, 263,  Methodists,  267,  Unitari- 
ans, 274,  Universalists,  277,  Separa- 
tists, 280,  Second  Adventists,  281, 
Spiritualists,  282.  Rogerenes,  283, 
Sandemanians,  284. 

Congregationalfsts  aided  Presbyterians, 
77. 

Congregationalists  became  Episcopa- 
lians, 264-5,  367,  385,  415,  446,  454, 
502. 

Congregational  way,  25,  39,  43. 

Congregational  ministers  onTemperance, 
212,  301,  310. 

Connecticut,  contrasted  with  Wisconsin, 
115. 

Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  62.  163, 
receipts,  168,  177 ;  auxiliary  to  Am. 
Society.  177. 

Consociation,  action  in  extreme  cases, 
304,  333, 444,495 ;  benefits  of,  70,  305, 
317,  333,  419,  444,  standing  council, 
333. 

Consociation,  21, 30,  defined,  31 , 321, 356, 
extreme  measures,  51,  52;  in  Walling- 
ford  case,  53  ;  author  of,  87 ,  good  in- 
fluence, 87,  333  ;  business,  125,  333  ; 
benefits,  126  ;  not  be  packed,  must  be 
consistent,  126,  favors  acquaintance 
and  sympathy,  127. 

Consolidated  Church,  no  plan  of,  in  New 
Testament,  104. 

Constitution,  eccl.,  46,  55,  62,  ends  of 
47,  results,  70. 

Contributions  of  Churches,  62. 

Controversy  in  Hartford,  16,  17,  24,  89. 
in  Wethersfield,  17  ;  in  Guilford,  48  ; 
Milford,  51,  426  ;  in  New  Haven  Co., 
322-3;  Lebanon,  414. 

Civilization,  Christian,  71. 

Consociation,  General,  proposed,  301. 

Contributions  to  benevolent  objects,  203. 

Conversions  in  Sabbath  School,  192. 

Co-operation,  from  sanctified  individual- 
ism, 137. 

Cornwall  Mission  School,  160,  409. 

Courts,  decisions  of  in  eccl.  case,  286, 
346. 

Council,  ex-parte,  none  in  Conn,  sys- 
tem, 334. 


Topical  Index. 


525 


Creed,  sound,  and  strong   organization, 

no  bulwark  of  orthodoxy,  lot1,. 
Daggett,  (David,)  on  Temperance  212. 
Davenport    (James,)  mistakes  in  Great 

Awakening,  19. 

Day,  (Jeremiah,)  on  Temperance,  211. 
Deacons,  ordination  of,  301,    327,  :;:'•'.', 

triennial,  471. 
Decisions  of  Courts  iii  eccl.  cases,  286, 

346. 

Declension  in  religion,  55,  60,  335. 
Defects   of  discipline,  13,  14;  action  of 

Gen.  Assoc.  54. 

Delegate,  .-quul  voice  with  pastor,  338. 
Denominationalism  not  to  be  decried,  94. 
Denominations,    other   than    Congrega- 
tional, 200,  toleration  of,  62,  271, free- 
dom from  restrictions  on  by  ( 'ontrrega- 
tionalists,  123;  influence  on  by  <  'ongre- 
gationalists  111  ;  all  on  same  footing 
227  ;  Evangelical,  260-273,  not  evan- 
gelical, 274,  285. 

Derby  pastor  hardly  dealt  with,  51. 
Dignifying  seats  in  meeting  house,  228. 
Discipline  in  the  Church  13, 14,  differen- 
ces in  adjusted,  15,  new  difficult i«-s  in. 
15,  articles  of,  37  ;  a  compromise,  37, 
in  Durham,  44-6,  Gen.  Assoc.  on,  54. 
Dismission    of  ministers,    became    fre- 
quent, causes,  239-40,  evils  to  the  peo- 
ple, 243. 
Dissent  of  Norwich  Church  from  Plat 

form,  43. 

Division  of  Churches,  25. 
Divorce,  227,  338. 
Doctrine,  sound,  hope  of,  107. 
Doctrinal   errors,  inroads    of,  55,  303 

alleged,  reply,  328. 

Domestic  Missions,  62,  Society  of  Conn 
Churches  aided  by,  177  ;  receipts,  178 
Durham  Church  as  to  discipline,  44-6. 
Dutton,    (Samuel   W.  S.)    on  Christian 

liberty,  118. 
Dwight,    (Timothy,)    on    Temperance 

207. 
Eastern    Association,  New   London  Co 

331,  Windham  Co.  337. 
East  Windsor  Seminary,  185,  294  ;  pro- 
posed union  with  Yale  Sem.,  188. 
Eccl.  control  reconciled   with  indepen 

dency,  116,  138. 
Eccl.  power   of  English   sovereign,  74 

oppression  74. 
Eccl.  societies,  need  of,  20  ;  cases  in  the 

Courts.  286. 
Eccl.  constitution  of  Saybrook,  46,  65 
62  ;  benefits  of,  47,  70  ;  progress,  first 
period    of  Platform,  46;  system   43, 
46,  ultimate  effects,  68,  70. 
Education,  school  and  academical,  248; 
Theological,  296  ;  for   ministry,  302, 
310,  313. 


Edwardean  Theology,  55,  296,  323,  337. 
Edwards  (Jonathan,)  in  Great  Awaken- 
ing, 1  '.-7. 

Edwards,  , ;.lu>tin,)  on  Temperance,  208. 
~Jldridge,  (Joseph)  on  Consociation,  125. 
'h-ction  sermon.  S27. 
Emigration.  <  'liristian  encouraged,  1X2. 
Snglish  Constitution,  freedom  of  due  to 

Puritans,  74. 

Spiscopacy  in  Yale  College,  Gov.  Salt- 
onstall  vs.  Rector  Cutler,  264  ;  origin 
of  in  Conn.  2t54  ;  Separation,  338. 
Episcopalians,  advantages   gained   from 
Conirrcgationalists,    7u  ;    on   temper- 
ance,  213  ;  oriirm   of,  2t;:i  :  relations 
to  Congregationalists,     263  ;  granted 
freedom,  270  ;  Congregationalisms  be- 
came,   264-5.    454,    446,  502,  8t>7. 
Errors,   doctrinal,   inroads   of,    55  ;  of 

Separates,  63,  280. 
Evangelical  denominations,  260. 
Extinct  churches,  332.  345,  and  those  in 

black  letter  heading,  in  Sketches. 
Fairfield,  E.   licensed   David   Brainerd, 

reasons.  298. 

Family  prayer,  neglect  cause  for  excom- 
munication, 314. 
Farmington,  first  meeting  of  Am.  Board 

at,  151. 

Fathers,  honor  to,  110,  112,  128. 
Foreign   missions,   151,    299,  301,    302, 

310,  317  ;  missionaries,  151,  154.         • 
Foreign  Mission  School,  160,  367. 
Foreigner,  ordination  of,  328. 
Formalism,  many  grades  of,  135. 
Free    polity    strong,    136  ;     free    seat 

Churches',  406,  4n7. 
Frost  (Daniel)  on  Temperance,  211. 
Funds  for  ministry,  233  ;  conditions  of, 
381,  383  ;  for  f  heol.  Sem.  234  ;  char- 
itable institutions,  235. 
General  Assoc.  first  meeting,  40  ;  meet- 
ings and  officers,  143  ;  first  records, 
52  ;  vs.  Whitfield,  53  ;  began  home 
missions,  and  to  Indians,  56 ;  action 
in  Revolutionary  War,  67  ;  action  re- 
specting slave-trade,  58;  moderators, 
scribes,    preachers,    registers,    treas- 
urers, 142-7. 

Government  of  Church,   principles  de- 
rived from  the  Bible,  75. 
Governor's  brief,  62,  163,  317. 
Graduates  of  Yale,  missionaries,  180. 
Great  Awakening,  preparation  for,  47 


thanks  for,  52 
labors  in,  307 


effects  of,  51,  55,  63; 
opposition  to,  417. 


Gnilford  difficulty,  48,  322. 

Half  Century,  first,  46  ;  second,  56  ; 
third,  61 ;  discourses,  177,  354,  388, 
404,  448,  462,  473.  475,  445.  476,  492, 
501,  503. 

Half-century  ministers,  289-95, 


526 


Topical  Index. 


Half-way  covenant,  21,  26  ;  influence 
of  on  ministers,  46 ;  action  on,  317  ; 
in  churches,  359,  364,  387,  409,  396, 
51 1,  609,  409,  415,  453,  476,  481,  492  ; 
copy  of,  411. 

Hamilton  College,  291,  348,  416. 

Hardships  of  missionaries,  56. 

Hartford  First  Church,  85  ;  Sabbath 
School,  192. 

Hawes  (Joel)  on  First  Church  in  Conn., 
85 ;  on  Sabbath  Schools,  190. 

Hewit  (Nathaniel)  on  Temperance,  209. 

Historical  Discourse,  appointment,  de- 
sign, 1  ;  Papers,  142-297  ;  Sketches 
of  District  Associations,  298 — 340  ; 
Sketches  of  Churches,  341-517. 

Holy  Spirit  granted,  61  ;  presence  ot, 
our  safeguard,  117. 

Home  missions,  66,  62,  163  ;  no  early 
need  of,  175  ;  to  prevent  churches 
from  becoming  extinct,  237  ;  churches 
need  funds,  237 ;  action  on,  299,  301, 
303,  310,  317,  327. 

Hooker,  (Thomas,)  author  of  Consocia- 
tion, 87  ;  (Horace)  on  Home  Missions, 
163. 

Hopkinsian  Ministers,  337. 

Humphrey,  (Heman)  on  Temperance, 
207. 

Hyde,  (Charles)  on  East  "Windsor  Sem- 
inary, 185. 

^Incendiary  of  meeting-house  sold  to  ser- 
vice, 409. 

Independence  of  churches  guarded  by 
Massachusetts,  70  ;  those  who  claim 
it  to  be  derived  from  the  Bible,  not 
Brownists,  76  ;  evil  effects  of,  89  ;  re- 
conciled with  ecclesiastical  control, 
116;  with  strict  fellowship,  138; 
character,  334. 

Indians,  first  missionary  to,  56 ;  Char- 
ity School,  148 ;  366  ;  raised  up  mis- 
sionaries, 150  ;  in  Cornwall  School, 
161. 

Individualism  sanctified,  137  ;  consis- 
tent with  truth  and  fellowship,  139. 

Installation  of  ministers,  221  ;  perma- 
nent thing,  239. 

Institutions,  our  church,  go  west  with 
our  children,  97  ;  abandonment  of, 
brings  evil,  99  ;  Pilgrim,  founded  in 
Wisconsin,  113  ;  founded  in  England, 
to  be  carried  to  the  West,  131. 

Intemperance,  cost  of,  evils,  212. 

Interpretation  of  the  Saybrook  Plat- 
form, liberal  in  New  Haven  Co.,  41, 
321-2  ;  rigid  in  Fairfield  Co.,  42. 

Intolerance  of  Legislature  and  minis- 
ters, Guilford,  48,  322  ;  Milford,  51  ; 
Derby,  Wallingford,  323  ;  of  minis- 
ters rewarded,  56. 


Jones  (Henry)  on  other  denominations, 
260. 

Law  of  the  Church,  Christ's  word,  76. 

Lawrence  (Edward  A.,)  on  Principles 
of  Congregationalism,  73. 

Laws  oppressive  on  ministers,  119;  re- 
quire all  to  support  the  gospel,  62, 
118,  227  ;  vs.  slavery,  60  ;  vs.  intem- 
perance, 216  ;  on  education,  249. 

Lax  religion  favored  by  restrictions, 
12S. 

Laymen,  a  "  silent  democracy,"  16,  24, 
46,  89  ;  members  of  Saybrook  Synod, 
12,  33  ;  meetings  of,  298  ;  in  associ- 
ation proposed,  299. 

Learned  (Robert  C.)  on  Separates,  253. 

Leavitt  (Joshua)  on  Temperance,  211. 

Legal  Establishment,  46,  55  ;  abolished, 
62,  122,  271. 

Legislator,  Christ  in  the  Church,  74. 

Legislature,  action  of  in  church  affairs, 
12,  17,  22,  26,  470,  363,  394,  409,  423, 
426,  449;  intermeddling,  28,  32,  38  ; 
confirmation  of  Saybrook  Platform, 
38,  356  ;  disown  dissenting  churches, 
39  ;  vs.  slave-trade,  59. 

Lessons  from  aim  of  Fathers,  128. 

Liberty,  true  ideas  of,  59  ;  religious, 
safe  and  wise,  118,  226  ;  of  churches, 
62,  72  ;  largest  for  other  sects,  119, 
271,  426  ;  evils  of  on  the  church  and 
the  State,  122. 

Liberty,  restrictions  on,  120,  122  ;  fears 
of  complete.  122,  226  ;  increase  other 
sects,  favor  lax  religion,  123,  426  ;  re- 
peal of  compulsory  support,  a  blow 
to  them,  124. 

Libraries,  Sabbath  School,  and  Pastoral, 
247,499  ;  $100  yearly  to,  486. 

License  system  vs.  temperance,  206,  217. 

Licensing  candidates,  316. 

Licentiates,  299,  303,  305,  306,  308,  311, 
314,  318,  319,  320,  323,  329,  334,  336, 
339. 

List  of  foreign  missionaries,  154  ;  grad- 
uates of  Y.  C.,  180;  home  mission- 
aries, 165,  169;  separate  chnrches,254. 

Magistrate,  civil  power  of  in  matters  of 
religion,  15. 

Maine  Law,  216. 

Majorities  rule,  89. 

Malignant  diseases,  348. 

Map  of  Missionary  field  in  the  West, 
prepared  in  179S,  165. 

Marrying  wife's  sister,  298. 

Marsh  (John)  on  Temperance,  205. 

Massachusetts  churches  jealous  of  Con- 
sociationism,  170. 

McEwen  (Abel)  on  Unevangelical  De- 
nominations. 274  ;  on  New  London 
Association,  332. 


Topical  Index. 


527 


Methodists  on  Temperance,  213. 

Meeting-houses  burned,  344,  347,  373, 
374,  395,  409,  460,  502;  blown  down, 
463. 

Meetings,  three  days',  372. 

Methodists,  advantages  derived  from 
Congregationalists,  70  ;  origin  and 
spread,  267. 

Middlebury  College,  289,  291. 

Milford  controversy,  322,  426. 

Millerites,  281. 

Mills  (Samuel  J.)  explores  Mississippi 
Valley,  167  ;  pioneer  ot  missions, 
151. 

Ministerial  Funds.     See  Parochial. 

Ministers  became  College  Presidents, 
etc.,  289,  294,  343,  348,  363,  373,  378, 
385,  394,  408,  412,  416,  423.  424,  425. 
432,  434,  438,  454,  481,  510  ;  without 
a  church,  400.  461,  485,  487. 

Ministers  hardly  dealt  with  in  New  Ha- 
ven County,  51,  52  ;  not  preach  in  an- 
other's parish,  119;  449  ;  deprived  of 
salary  for,  119  ;  testimony  vs.  slavery, 
60;  Cong,  on  Temperance,  212,  215; 
new  generation  of,  trained  by  Ed 
wards  and  Bellamy,  55;  settled,  221; 
in  fault  for  frequent  change,  241  ; 
land  and  house  to  first  minister,  354, 
390,  409,  484  ;  be  contented  and  seek 
permanence,  245  ;  dismissed,  amena- 
ble to  their  church,  328,  338  :  first 
preached  with  notes,  511;  serve  aa 
deacon,  475  ;  military  captain,  448 ; 
died  or  sickened  fatally  in  the  pulpit, 
358,  455. 

Ministers,  Half-century,  289-95,  physi- 
cians, 486  ;  teach  school,  401,  394, 
410,  423  ;  teach  Theology,  297,  336. 
410. 

Ministers'  meeting,  335  ;  leaving  funds 
to  their  people,  342,  469,  361  ;  houses 
burnt,  378,  386,  393. 

Ministers,  conservative  policy  of,  51  ; 
silenced  and  deposed,  346,  375,  420, 
454,  504  ;  became  lawyers,  294  ;  in 
want,  curious  votes,  376,  490;  richest 
minister,  450  ;  changed  to  error,  S75, 
377,  419,  504. 

Ministry  without  a  church,  3,  4  ;  ruling 
the  church,  Norwich,  44  ;  Durham, 
44-46  ;  formalists,  46  ;  joy  in  work, 
92  ;  God's  method  to  raise  up,  107  ; 
settled,  221  ;  permanent,  239  ;  sup- 
ported by  funds,  233-5  ;  changing, 
evils  of,  243. 

Mission  Chapel,  436. 

Mission  of  Congregationalism  at  the 
West,  93  ;  as  defined  by  history, 
138;  fulfill  it,  102. 

Missionaries,  foreign,  150,  151,  154; 
home,  165,  169  ;  supported,  163. 


Missionary  work  begun,  1774,  56-7, 
308  ;  first  missionary  to  Indians,  56  ; 
society,  57  ;  prepare  missionaries, 
148 ;  Home  Society,  166^  object,  167. 

Mississippi  valley  eiploredTl67. 

Mission  School,  Cornwall,  160;  results, 
disbanded,  162. 

Missions,  Foreign,  150,  151,  154,  301, 
417,  310,  335  ;  interest  in,  328  ; 
Home,  163  ;  new,  164  ;  receipts, 
168,  177,  178;  churches  aided  by, 
177-8. 

Moderators  of  Saybrook  Synod,  2 ;  of 
Gen.  Assoc.  148. 

Moor's  Indian  Charity  School,  at  Col- 
umbia, by  Dr.  E.  A\  heelock,  to  fit  In- 
dians for  preachers,  schoolmasters, 
148-50  ;  removed  to  Hanover,  N.  H., 
14«. 

Morris  (Myron  N.)  on  General  Associ- 
ation, 142. 

National  sins,  our  system  has  power  vs, 
107. 

Nettleton  (Asahel)  on  Temperance,  214, 

New  England  Theology,  55,  296,  240. 
323. 

New  Haven,  colony  government  oppose 
3d  synod,  18;  county  no  lay  delegate 
in  Synod,  33  ;  severe  ecclesiastical 
measures,  51-2. 

New  Haven  controversy,  120  ;  Associ- 
ation suspended  ministers  for  ordain- 
ing under  Cambridge  Platform,  323, 
473. 

New  Jersey  College,  394,  481. 

New  Lights.  52,  55,  437,  502 ;  sup- 
pression of,  119. 

New  London  County  Home  Missions, 
176  ;  dismissions,  239. 

Newspapers,  religious,  asperity  disap- 
proved, 310. 

Non-communicants  not  prohibited  suf- 
frage in  Conn.  Colony,  118;  were  in 
New  Haven,  118  ;  at'first  no  voice  in 
choosing  minister,  20. 

Norwich  church  dissent  from  Platform, 
43. 

Obookiah,  Henry,  180.  367. 

Occam,  Sampson,  case  of,  338. 

Officers,  church  make,  104. 

Old  Lights,  52,  437 ;  overthrow  as  dom- 
inant party,  55. 

Oppressive  exactions,  120,  270,426,  437. 

Ordination  of  Deacons,  301,  327  ;  For- 
eigner, 328  ;  in  Guilford  over  church, 
in  North  Bristol,  454, 

Organization,  strongest,  the  most  cor- 
rupt, 106 ;  advantages  at  too  dear 
price,  108  ;  excessive  legislation  of, 
108. 

Orthodoxy  and  Congregationalism  «yn- 
onymous,  139. 


528 


Topical  Index. 


Parish  way,  63. 

Parishes  divided  by  changing  ministers, 
244. 

Parochial  Funds,  233  ;  injury,  232-3  ; 
perversion.  233—5—8  ;  missionary 
churches,  need.  236  ;  improve  con- 
dition and  perpetuate  them,  237. 

Parsonages,  230  ;  number  and  value, 
231  ;  donated,  386. 

Pastoral  libraries,  247,  486,  499. 

Pastoral  office,  responsibility,  221  ; 
Scriptural  theory  requires  both  elec- 
tion and  installation,  222  ;  opposite 
custom  has  evils  and  dangers,  224 ; 
permanent,  241,  223,  229  ;  sacredness 
of,  244,  316. 

Pastoral  Union,  185-6,  328. 

Pastors  on  missionary  tours,  163  ;  pay- 
ments to,  164 ;  in  Sabbath  School, 
195  ;  and  stated  supplies,  221  ; 
churches,  advised  to  have,  299. 

Perfection,  views  of,  license  recalled 
for,  328. 

Permanency  of  ministry,  223.  239,  231, 
482,  459  ,"494. 

Permanent  ecclesiastical  establishment, 
13,  14,  37,  47,  122. 

Permanent  funds  and  parsonages,  230, 
246. 

Pierpoint  (James,)  descendants  of,  9. 

Pilgrim  Father?,  110;  principles,  111; 
aims  in  coming  to  this  land,  not  ad- 
venturers, but  for  the  church,  129. 

Pioneering,  Puritan,  in  N.  E.,  and  at 
West,  111  ;  problem  of,  115. 

Pioneers  in  Temperance,  E.  Porter,  L. 
Beecher,  Swan,  Humphrey,  Edwards, 
Hewit,  Leavitt,  Marsh,  Dav,  Chapin. 
Stone,  Fiske,  Nettleton,  205-213. 

Pitkin  (Timothy)  on  Temperance,  211. 


Presbyterian  churches,  260,  426,  449, 
493,  488. 

Presbyterianism,  tending  to,  15,  32,  89  ; 
kind  of,  16  ;  friends  of,  26  ;  Presbyte- 
rian and  Congregational  differences 
ignored  in  heads  of  agreement,  36  ; 
Presbyterian  views  of  Platform,  122  ; 
in  Fairfield  County,  42,  356  ;  in  Mil- 
ford,  51  ;  name  in  Conn.,  63  ;  alliance 
with  to  resist  Episcopacy,  64  ; 
churches,  260. 

Presbyterians,  union  with,  299,  301, 
313". 

Presbyteries,  churches  connected  with, 
426,  449. 

Principles  of  Congregationalism,  Christ 
the  sole  Legislator,  his  word  the  law, 
his  spirit  the  life  of  the  Church,  74 ; 
distinctive,  93  ;  be  taught,  be  not  ig- 
nored, 95  ;  ignored  for  gain,  100  ; 
alien  to  sectarian  strife,  101  ;  of  Pu- 
ritans, extended,  111,  115. 

Private  judgment,  right  of,  136. 

Profession  of  half-way-covenant,  21,  26. 

Protest  of  Pastoral  Union  answered, 
328. 

Prudden  (Geo.  P.)  on  Pastors  and  Sta- 
ted supplies,  221. 

Publications  on  Temperance,  219. 

Public  worship  to  be  supported  by  all, 
62. 

Puritanism  defeated  in  England,  35. 

Puritans  authors  of  liberty  of  English 
Constitution,  75  ;  Theology,  77-8  ; 
Puritan  pioneering  in  New  England 
and  at  the  West,  111. 

Raikes  (Robert)  on  Sabbath  Schools, 
191,  193. 

Receipts  of  Home  Missions,  168,  177. 

Relations  to  other  denominations,  65. 


Platform,  Cambridge,  14,  15,  26;  Say-  Repeal   of    church   establishment,    62, 
brook,    34,   35  ;    imposed    upon    the       122,  271. 


churches,  39 ;  how  received,  40  ;  re- 
pealed, 62,  271  ;  need  as  bond  of 
union,  88. 

Polity,  Congregational,  64,  75  ;  distinc- 
tive 93  ;  simplest  and  best,  128;  free 
and  strong,  136  ;  opposers  of,  nurtured 
here,  98;  attachment  to,  109;  adapt- 
ed to  individual  and  united  action, 
134,  123. 

Porter  (Ebenezer)  on  Temperance,  205. 

Porter  (Noah)  on  first  meeting  of  Am. 
Board,  151  :  on  Hartford  C.  Assoc., 
304. 

Post  (T.  M.)  on  Congregationalism  at  the 
West,  93. 

Prayer,  family,  neglect  of  cause  for  ex- 
communication, 314. 

Preaching  in  another  parish  forbidden, 
119. 


Revivals  in  1740,  52  ;  decline  in,  55, 
60,  335  ;  early,  90 ;  prevalent,  61  ; 
modern,  marked  by  less  disorders 
and  reaction,  61 ;  periods,  197  ;  means 
used,  199  ;  results,  201  ;  source  of 
prosperity,  90  ;  eras  of,  53,  61,  197- 
201,  336  ;  in  churches,  passim. 

Rhode  Island,  Home  Mission  aid  from 
Connecticut,  163. 

Rogerenes,  283. 

Sabbath  Schools,  origin  of,  190,  modern 
191,  317  ;  progress,  extent,  192  ;  Con- 
versions in,  192  ;  for  all  classes  193  ; 
instructions  of,  libraries,  193;  objects, 
194  ;  well  conducted,  194  ;  pastors  in 
194;  results.  195. 

Safeguard,  presence  of  Holy  Spirit,  117. 

Salaries  offered,  350,  373,  390,  446. 

Salaries   of  ministers,  methods  of  rais- 


Topical  Index. 


529 


ing,  226  ;  by  tax,  227  ;  voluntary 
'••in,  amount  of,  228;  regulate 
tlmn<elv<-s,  12'29,  forfeited  119,  relin- 
quished in  the  war,  366  ;  depreciated, 
in'.),  44 it. 

Sandemanians.  2S4.  2'.»8,  369,447. 

Saybrook  Commission  in  1669,  27,  29, 
Confession,  of  Faiih,  34  ;  Heads  of 
agreement.  35  ;  Platform  refused,  459. 

Snyhrook  Synod,  1  ;  Moderators,  2  ; 
Scribes,  3. 

Saybrook  Constitution,  or  Platform,  2, 
vs.  Episcopacy,  265. 

Saybrook  members,  their  character,  2, 
12  ;  lay  members.  12. 

Baybrook,  Author  of  Articles,  7;  Synod 
convened  by  the  Civil  government.  12, 
13,30;  occasion  for  it.  13;  assumption 
of  power  by.  35;  confession  of  faith,  34; 
Heads  of  agreement,  35  ;  Articles  of 


State   and    Church,  63 ;    Separated  by 

Christ,  103. 

State  of  Connecticut,  no  longer  a  colo- 
ny, 58. 
Stated    supplies,    (and    Pastors,)    221; 

evils  of,  to  ministers,  241,  to   people, 

14ft 
Stoddardean   baptism  and  communion, 

3n,  63. 

Strict  Congregationalism,  32. 
Swan,  (Roswell  R.)  on  Temperance,  207. 
Synod  of  li'.MT,  14.  112  ;  of  1647-8,  14  ; 
'of  1659,    17  ;  of    1662,    21  ;  of  1708, 

46. 
Synod  first,  vs.  Antinomianism,  14  ;  2d, 

formed   Cambridge  platform,  14,  15; 

3d, founded  half-way  covenant,  17, 19, 

4th,    re-affirmed  it.  17  ;  5th,    formed 

Saybrook  platform,  1,  46. 
Synods  originated  by  the  government. 


discipline.  37  ;  Platform   forced   upon       12,17. 

the  Churches,  38-9  ;  system  illustrated,  Tax,  double,  120,  426,  438,  479  ;  forsup- 


43,  46  ;  repealed,  62. 
Schools,  Indian  Charity,  148;  Cornwall 

Mission,  160  ;  "  of  the  Prophets,"  296. 

336. 
Schools,   Sabbath,  190  ;  common,  early 

established,  238  ;  by   ministers,  249'; 

by  Cougregationalists,  250. 
Second  Adventists,  281. 
Sects  built  up  by  restrictions  on  liberty, 

123. 

Self-government  of  Churches,  45,  69. 
Seminary,  Yale  Theological,  182  ;  East 

Windsor,    185 ;    Proposals   of   union, 

188. 
Separatee,   hostility   to,  121 ;  in   Great 

Awakening,    198,  vs.  ministerial  tax, 

226  ;  Churches,  253,  280,  419,456,  463, 

480,  487  ;  errors   and  disorders,  280, 

Wind  ha rn  Association,  action   about, 

and  baptism  of,  338,  party  348. 
Sermon,  Election,  301. 
Settlement  of  Windsor,  73,  Hartford,  73, 


Xew  Haven,  73. 
Settlement  of  ministers,  221 


for  minis- 


ters, 230,  239,  343,  350,  390,   409,  444, 

448  ;  terms  of,  246. 
Sherman,  (Roger   M.)  on   Temperance, 

212. 

Sins,  national,  our  system  vs.  107. 
Slavery,  sermon   by    Rev.    Levi    Hart, 


58-9  ;  abolished,  60 
13-2. 


curse    stayed, 


Slave-trade  unjust,  action  of  Gen.  Asso- 
ciation, 58  ;  prohibited,  59. 

Societies,  Eccl.,  need  of,  20,  strong,  invi- 
ting other  ministers,  241. 

Spiritualists,  282. 

Stamford,  walking  from,  to  Boston  after 


a  minister,  483. 
Standing  order,  62,  272,  502. 


port   of    gospel,   175,    227,  477, 
once  not  levied  on  ministers,  2'2'.». 

Teachers  of  Theology,  182,  184,  188, 
297. 

Temperance  in  Connecticut,  history  of, 
205  ;  pioneers  in,  206,  215  ;  State  Soc. 
211  ;  pledge,  215  ;  license,  206,  '217  ; 
need  of  212  ;  Congregationalists  on, 
205,  212  ;  Baptists,  Episcopalians, 
Methodists  on,  213  ;  favored  revivals, 
of  214  ;  legislation,  21 6  ;  benefits,  217  ; 
cause  not  bad  as  ever,  218  ;  Publica- 
tions, 219  ;  action  of  Associations,  299, 
308,  303,  314. 

Tests  of  religious  experience,  61. 

Theological  Seminaries,  Yale.  182,  302  ; 
East  Windsor,  185  ;  Education,  early, 
296. 

Theology  of  Connecticut,  55,  61,  79,  431. 


Thompson,   (Joseph   P.) 
tional  Polity,  134. 


on    Congrega- 


Toleration,  62,  66.  75;  act,  118;  re- 
pealed, 119;  of  other  sects,  119. 

Total  abstinence,  215,  302,  310, 314,  328. 

Towns  support  ministers,  175. 

Tracts  and  books  early  sent  from  Conn., 
168  ;  Society  proposed,  338. 

Training  of  ministers  by  Bellamy  and 
others.  55,  296. 

Travel  on  Sabbath,  ministers  should  not, 
314,  339. 

Trinity,  fundamental,  no  fellowship 
with  deniers  of.  339. 

Tuttle,  (Timothy,)  on  Permanent  minis- 
try, 239. 

Unconsociated  Churches,  receive  bene- 
fits. 70. 

Unevangelical   denominations,  274,  not 


flourished,  71. 
Union  College,  378,  293. 

68 


530 


Topical  Index. 


Union  in  Churches  by  concession,  89, 
431 ;  Christian,  Congregationalism  in 
harmony  with,  103  :  by  common  faith, 
104. 

Union  of  Congregationalists  and  Presby- 
terians and  assimilation,  chimerical, 
64  ;  advantages  of,  64  ;  in  Eccl.  meet- 
ings, 299,  310,  313. 

Union »  of  Theological  Seminaries  pro- 
posed, 188. 

Unitarianism,  274,  352,  419. 

Unitarianism,  in  New  Milford,  274,  444  ; 
Granby,  275,  Mansfield,  419,  New  Lon- 
don, 275,443  ;  South  Coventry,  276, 
Brooklyn,  352,  Canterbury,  276. 

Unitarians,  relations  to  Congregational- 
ists, 274. 

Universalism,  in  relation  to  Congrega- 
tionalists, 277  ;  ministers  turned  to, 
375,  377,466,  504. 

Universalists,  277. 

Unregenerate,  fit  subjects  of  full  com- 
munion, argued,  30. 

Waddington,  (John)  on  Pilgrim  Fathers, 
110. 

Wallingford  case,  55,223,  368,494. 

Wars,  hardships  of  Churches  in,  313-14, 
374,  370,  396, 398,  416,  487,  496. 

Washington,  Sabbath  School  in,  191. 

Waste  places  in  Conn.  176. 

Wesley,  (John,)  on  Sabbath  School,  193. 

West,  Mission  of  Congregationalism  at, 
93  ;  extent,  164  ;  Puritan  pioneering 


at,  111 ;  self-diffusion  due  to  the,  95  ; 
Congregationalism  adapted  to,  95. 

West  Haven  pastor  hardly  dealt  with, 
52. 

Westminster,  Confession,  77  ;  Catechism, 
313  ;  on  family  religion,  339. 

Wheelock,  (Eleazar's,)  Indian  Charity 
School,  148. 

Whitfield,  eulogium  on,  '53,  preached, 
356,  509,  chosen  instrument  of  God, 
54,  action  against,  55,  308,  invited, 
298. 

Wife's  sister,  marrying,  298. 

Windsor,  not  Hartford,  the  first  Church 
in  Conn.,  512. 

Wine  at  the  communion,  215. 

Winter  privileges,  175,  344,  350,  429, 
462,477,  479,497. 

Wisconsin  contrasted  with  Conn.  114. 

Worship,  public,  in  a  barn,  409,  425. 

Wolcott,  (Samuel,)  on  Lessons  from  aim 
of  our  Fathers,  128. 

Woolsey,  (Theodore  D.)  on  Catholicity, 
82. 

Yale  College,  at  Saybrook  commenced 
ment,  2  ;  "  Collegiate  School,"  2  ;  or 
igin,  8 ;  at  Clinton,  363 ;  present  ex- 
tent, 9  ;  choice  of  a  President  of,  373 
Missionary  graduates,  180  ;  Theolo- 
gical Department  of,  183  ;  union  with 
East  Windsor,  188. 

Yankee  "faded,"  or  degenerate,  100. 


INDEX   OF  NAMES. 


The  committee  have  met  with  a  difficulty  in  the  preparation  of  this  in- 
dex, to  which  they  call  attention.  In  the  reports  which  they  have  received, 
there  is  a  want  of  uniformity  in  the  spelling  of  names.  As  a  result  of 
this,  it  may  sometimes  be  found  that  there  are  two  references  to  the  same 
person,  according  to  each  of  the  methods  of  spelling.  So  in  the  case  of  per- 
sons who  have  "  middle  "  names,  the  reference  may  be,  in  a  few  cases,  both 
to  the  Christian  name  alone,  and  to  the  name  in  full.  Whenever  an  error 
of  importance  in  the  spelling  of  any  name  has  been  discovered  in  the  vol- 
ume, the  name,  as  incorrectly  spelled,  has  been  entered  in  the  Index,  in- 
closed in  brackets. 

Attention  is  also  called  to  the  fact  that  not  unfrequently  in  the  "  History 
of  the  Churches"  the  same  person  is  claimed  to  have  been  "raised  up"  for 
the  ministry  within  the  bounds  of  two  or  more  societies. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  noticed  that  from  several  of  the  churches 
no  list  of  ministers  "raised  up"  has  been  furnished;  and  the  names  of 
"  Licentiates"  of  the  District  Associations  for  the  first  hundred  years  are  al- 
most entirely  wanting. 


Abbe,  Edward  P.  417. 

Frederick  11.,  417. 
Abbott,  Abiel,  276,  289,  367. 

John  S.  C.  361. 

Josiah,  311. 
Abel,  James,  403. 
Abernethy,  II.  0.,  408. 
Adams,  Charles  S.,  500. 

Cornelius,  309,  358,  474. 

Daniel,  358. 

E.  J.,  406. 

Eliphalet,  143,  443. 

Ezra,  Jr.,  309. 

Henry  M.  306. 

John  W.  476. 

Parker,  358. 

Thomas.  309. 

William,  443. 

William  II.,  330,  346. 
Aikin,  Win.  P.,  442. 

Aitchison,  Wm.,  154,  181,  326,  389,  397. 
Albro,  John  A.,  419. 
Alden.  Abishai,  393,  429,  507. 

Elisha,  482. 

Alexander,  Caleb,  171,289,  334. 
Alger,  Wm.  J.,  383. 

Edward,  395. 


Allen,  Ephraim'W.,  318. 

Jacob,  376,  450,  467,  493. 

Jaaon,  334,  514. 

Samuel  H.,  513. 

Timothy,  256,  289,  323,  343,  520. 

Rollin  D.  H.,  312. 

William,  341,  et  passim.     Biog.   Diet. 

William,  506. 

Ailing,  Abraham,  327,  346,  402. 
Allis,  Samuel,  289,  476. 

Mrs.  Samuel,  154. 
Allyn.  George,  309. 

Park,  257. 

Alanson,  358. 
Alvord,  Frederick.  306. 

John  W.,  483. 

Ambler,  John  L.  N.,  347,  446,  452,  468. 
Anderson,  James,  404. 

Joseph,  483. 
Andrew,  Samuel,  4,  8,  289,  424. 

Samuel  R.,  220,  425,  515. 
Andrews,  E.  B.,  315,  367,  432. 

Elisha  D.  479. 

E.  W.,  315,  367,  500. 

Lorin,  154. 

Josiah  B.,  169,  336,  413,  479. 

Samuel  J.,  315,  367,  380,  442. 


Index  of  Names. 


Andrews,  Mrs.  S.  L.,  154. 

William,  145,  366,  369,  382. 

William  W.,  367,  418. 
Andrus,  Thomas,  289,  334,  465. 
Andrus,  Jared,  360,  361,  454. 
Anketell,  John  H.,  320. 
Apthrop,  Geo.  180. 

Arms,  Hiram  P.,  146,  226,  325,  409,  458 
514. 

Wm.  F.,  154,  181,  334,  459. 
Arnold,  Joel  R.,  364,  367,  421,  496. 

Jonathan,  308,  502. 

Oliver,  419. 
Arthur,  Thomas,  324. 
Atkins,  Elisha,  289,  337,  380. 
Atkinson,  Timothy,  503. 

W.  B.,  175. 
Atwater,  Charles,  329,  447. 

Edward  E., 436,  439. 

Jason,  325,  354,  437. 

Jason,  325,   354,  421,  446,  478,  432, 
496. 

Jeremiah.  289,  325,  361,  451. 

Lyman  H.,  146,  329,  385,  437. 

Noah,  324. 

Wm.  W.  319,440,468. 
Atwood,  Anson  8.,  145,  418,  498,   516. 
Austin,  Eliphalet,  Jr.,  173. 

Daniel  L.  154. 

Mrs.  D.  H.  154. 

David,  289,  325,  353,  394. 

David  R.,  480,  459. 

Henry  A.,  501. 

Punderson,  324. 

Samuel,  339,  437-8. 
Auten,  Mrs.  P.,  154. 
Averill,  James,  311,  398,  465. 
Avery,  David,  154,  360,  389,  491. 

Eleazar,  365. 

Ephraim,  351. 

Frederick  D.,  330,  365,  398. 

Christopher,  257. 

Jared  R.  146,  388,  398. 

John,  324,  443. 

John  E.,  330,  385. 

John  C.,  834. 

John  S.  483. 

John  T.  326. 

Joseph, 171. 

Nathan,  257. 

Wm.  P.,  334,  353,  398. 
Ayer,  Charles  L  340,  403,  493.  498. 

Joseph,  334,  379,  403,  456,  457,  480. 

Oliver,  171,  389, 

Ayers,  Frederick  H.,  303,  417,  484. 
Babbitt,  Tillotson,  346,  429. 
Babcock,  Diodatius,  450. 

Rufus,  364. 
Bacheller,  F.  E.  M.  456. 

G.  F.  R.,  871. 
Bacon,  David,  56,  154,  167,  169,  468. 

Mra.  David,  154. 


Bacon,  George  B.,  320,  437. 

John,  289,  358. 

Leonard,  146, 219, 220, 436. 

Leonard  W.,  320,  416,  437. 

Lemuel  L.  318. 

Samuel  F..  445. 

Wm.  T.,  437,  477,  499. 
Backus,  Azel,  145,  165,  336,  348,  459. 

Charles,  144,  297,  334,  459,  476. 

Isaac,  44,  459. 

John  C.,  437. 

Joseph,  44. 

Joseph  W.,  331,  351,  389. 

Samuel,  381,  503. 

Simon,  442. 

Simon,  289,  442,  454, 

Wm.  W.,  329,  349. 
Badger,  Joseph,  169,  289,  325,  464. 

Milton,  325,  342,  450. 
Bailey,  Edwin,  383. 

Nathaniel  P.,  326. 

Thomas,  311. 
Baird,  John  G.  360,  425. 
Baker,  Jacob,  339. 
Baloh,  Wm.  T.,  318. 
Baldwin,  Abraham,  324. 

Abraham,  314,  449. 

Abraham  C.,  373,  437,  449,  452-3. 

Benson  C.,  175,  346,  460. 

Burr,  434. 

David,  444. 

D  wight,  154,  180. 

Dwight,  Mrs.,  154. 

Ebenezer,  144,  369. 

Elijah,  425. 

Elijah  C.,  425,  474, 

Isaac,  308. 

John  D.,  329,  380,  447,  506. 

Theron,  318. 

Thomas,  459. 

William,  326,  445. 

William  W.,  383. 
Ball,  Charles  B.,  306,  509 

Dyer,  325. 

Mrs.  Dyer,  154. 
Bancroft,' David,  Jr.,  309,  507. 

George,  78. 
Bangs,  Nathan,  267. 
Banks,  Daniel,  303,  394,  503. 

Daniel  C.,  178,  303,  358,  395,  491. 
Barber,  Abel  L.,  309. 

Eldad,  174,381. 

Jonathan,  398. 

Joseph,  355. 

Luther  H.,  340,  359,  410. 
Barker,  Joseph,  311. 

Nehemiah,  413. 
Barlow,  Joel,  324. 
Barnes,  A.  Henry,  326. 

Jonathan  E.,  370,  424. 

Jeremiah  R.,  329,  43J,  479. 

Romulus,  325. 


Index  of  Names, 


533 


Barnes,  William,  408,  334. 
Barnet,  John,  3'J5. 
Barnum,  Caleb,  300,  360. 

George,  347. 

Samuel  W.,  330,  392. 
Barr,  Moses,  324. 

Thomas,  170. 

Barrow, ,  136. 

Barrows,  E.  P.  103,  309,  405,  419. 
Barstow,  Zedekiah  S.,  503. 
Bartholomew,  Andrew,  322,  408,  494. 

Orlo,  391. 
Bartle,  W.  T.  175. 
Bartlett,  E.  N.,  175. 

Hobart,  385. 

Hobart  M.  365. 

John,  Jr.,  309,  344,  349,  385. 

John  L.,  309. 

Jonathan,  290,  303,  469-70. 

Moses,  418,  466, 

Nathaniel,  144,  290,  453,  469. 

Shubael,  290,  880,  385. 

William,  151,  152. 
Barton,  F.  A.,  365. 

Titus  F.,  336. 

Bascom,  Flavel,  326,  385. 

John,  171. 

Ellery,  319. 
Bass,  John,  343. 

Bassett,  Amos,  161,  165,   169,   176,  329, 
3l->,  409.  428. 

Archibald,  170,  290,  325,  372,  509. 

Charles,  320. 

Isaac  H.,  336. 

George  W.,  309. 

William  Elliott,  320,  360,372. 
Bates,  James,  360. 

Talcott,  373. 
Beach,  Aarou  C.,  330,  426,  514. 

Abraham,  362. 

Benjamin,  258. 

James,  145.  146,  314,  491,  509,  513. 

John,  266,  290,  446. 

Isaac,  318,  447. 

Isaac  C.,  355. 
Beadle,  E.  R,,  407. 

Mrs.  E.  R.,  154. 
Beard,  Augustus  F.,  458. 

Spencer  F.,  397,  4^y. 
Beardsley,  Bronson  B.,  303,  357. 

Julius  O.,  355. 

Nehemiah  B.,  362,  491. 
Beattie,  James,  461. 
Beckley,  Hosea,  311. 
Beckwith,  George,  143,  144,  "290,  401, 
429. 

George  A.  4'Jf.. 
Bedinger,  Everett,  W.  439. 
Beebe,  David  H.,  514. 

Levi  S.,  318,  445. 

Gilbert,  459. 

Ilubbard,  502. 


Beebe,  James,  369,  491. 

Thomas,  883. 
Beecher,  Charles,  417, 

H.nry  Ward,  417. 

John  W.,  174,  383,  478. 

Luther  H.,  391. 

Lyman,  145,  176,  207,  209,    219,  290, 
329,  416,  453. 

Thomas  K.,  417,  330. 

William  H.  4'J4. 
Beers,  Joshua,  170. 
Belden,  Joshua,  290,  308,  442. 

William,  391. 

Jonathan,  308. 

Wm.  W.  312,  346,  371,  389,  462. 
Belknap,  Horace,  382. 
Bell,  Benjamin,  318. 

Hiram,  336,  413,  418. 
Bellamy;  Joseph,  52,  144,  191,  199,  259, 

290,  297,  298,  324,  348,  494. 
Benian,  Amos  G.  309,  406,  439. 

Samuel,  329. 
Benedict  Abner,  318. 

Abner,  Jr.,  171,  395,422. 

Alanson,  300,  857. 

Amzi,  433,  465,  473,  492. 

Epenetus  P.  320,  357. 

Joel,  165,  318,  416,463,  518. 

Joel  F.,471. 

Joel  T.,  355. 

Noah,  144,  145,  290,  300,  369,  516, 

Henry,  303,  458,  496,  603. 

Richard  II.,  464. 

Timothy,  448. 

T.  N.,  330,  351. 
Benjamin,  Theodore,  347. 
Bennet,  Asa,  468. 
Bent,  George,  331. 
Bentel,  C.  G.,  442. 

Bethune, ,  191. 

Bentley,  Charles,  392,  394,  408,  422,  607 

Edward  W.,  306. 
Benton,  Wm.  A,  154,  180,  309. 

Andrew,  405,  439. 

J.  Augustus,  330. 
Brtts,  Alfred  H.,  171. 

Edward  C.,  174. 

X.-nophon,  175,  325. 
Bidwell,  Oliver  B.,  330,  437. 
Bigelow,  Henry,  336. 
Billings,  Silas,  477. 

William,  403. 
Bingham,  Joel  F.,  336,  342,  390. 

Hiram,  439. 

Hiram,  Jr.,  181. 

Luther  G.,  173. 

Silas  L.,  170,  336,  342. 
Birchard,  Eliphalet,  342,  415. 

Win.  M.  351,  353,  375,  409,  415. 
Bird,  Isaac,  154,  180,  473. 

Jonathan,  311,  433. 

Samuel,  437. 


534 


Index  of  Names. 


Bird,  William,  154,  405. 

Birdseye,  Nathan,  290,  324,  466,  502. 

Birge, 'Chester,  325. 

Birney,  James,  326,  430. 

Bishop,  John,  290,  483. 

Alexander  II.,  303,  438. 

Noah,  427. 
Bissell,  E.  C.,  471. 

Henry,  381. 

Hezekiah,  144,  349,  512. 

Lemuel,  154,  181. 

Oscar,  417. 

Oscar  P.,  309. 

S.  B.  S.,  146,  303,  395,  458. 

Sanford.  381. 
Bixby,  Joseph  P.,  489. 

Black, ,  267, 

Blackman,  Adam,  486. 

Benjamin,  486. 
Blair,  Asa,  318. 

Blake,  Henry  B.,  315,  367-8,  509.     • 
Blakeman,  Phineas,  811,  427,  454. 
Blatchley,  Abraham,  154. 

Mrs.  A.,  154. 
Blatchford,  John,  355,  357. 

Henry,  357. 

Samuel,  144,  356,  394. 
Blinman,  Richard,  18,  442,  485. 
Blish,  Daniel,  375. 
Bliss,  John,  153,  165,  324,  382,  409. 

John  F.,  171. 

Seth,  411,  437. 

Daniel,  323. 

Flavel,  410. 
Blodgett,  Henry,  181,  326. 

Joseph,  482. 
Blood,  John,  410,  452. 
Bloodgood,  Abraham  L.,  383-4. 
Blunt,  Mrs.  A.  C.,  155. 
Boardman,  Benjamin,  144,  311,  405,  422. 

Charles  A.,  300,  439,  444,  445,  503. 

Daniel,  444,  507. 

Wm.  J.,  450,  453. 
Bod  well,  Lewis,  388. 
Bogue,  Publius  V.,  166,  169,  344,  509. 
Boies,  Artemas,  443. 

William,  173,  336. 
Boggs,  George  W.,  319. 
Bond,  Alvan,  146,  459. 
Bonney,  William,  314,  367,  433. 
Booge,  Aaron,  Jr.,  344,  376. 

Ebenezer,  344. 
Booth,  Chauncey,  367 
Bordwell,  Joel,  290.  412. 
Borromeo,  Carlo,  Abp.  of  Milan,  190. 
Bostwiek,  David,  444. 

Ephraim,  395. 

Gideon,  444. 

Bourne,  Shearjashub,  404. 
Bouton,  Nathaniel,  357,  458. 
Boutelle,  Thomas,  382. 
Bowers,  Benjamin,  422. 


Bowers,  John,  354,  372,  398,  489,  517. 

Nathaniel,  395. 
Bowman,  James  R.,  326. 
Boyd,  James,  171. 
Brace,  Charles  L.,  417. 

Edward  Joab,  442. 

Joab,  135,  146,  290,  442,  501. 

Jonathan,  146,  326,  404,  416,  425. 

Seth  C.,  442. 
Bradford,  Ebenezer,  358,  369. 

James,  503. 

Josiah,  503. 

Moses,  358. 

William,  254,  318,  358,  359,  503. 
Bradley,  Daniel,  329,  430. 

Hanover,  154. 

Mrs.  H.,  155. 

Joel,  329. 

Thomas  S.,  509. 
Bradner,  Benoni,  318. 
Bradstreet,  Simon,  442. 

Thomas  J.,  329. 
Brainerd,  Chiliab,  375,  401. 

David,  155,  297,  298,  300,  401. 

Davis  S.,  146,  401,  461. 

Elijah,  401. 

Eleazar,  401. 

John,  155,  181,  401. 

Israel,  170,  290,  336,  398,  401. 

Israel,  401,  422. 

James,  401. 

James  A.,  440. 

Nehemiah,  375,  401. 
Bray,  Thomas  W.,  144,  145. 

John  E.,  453,  468,  474,  506. 

Thomas,  452. 
Breck,  Joseph  H.,  173. 
Breed,  David,  155. 

Mrs.  David,  155. 

David,  Jr.,  309,  416,  439. 
Brewer,  Fisk  P.,  331. 

Josiah,  180. 

David,  399. 
Brewster,  Cyrus,  334,  346,  462. 

Frederick  H.,  309. 

Joseph,  438. 

Bridgden,  Zechariah,  485. 
Brigham,  Chas.  A.  G.,  383-4. 
Brinsmade,  Daniel,  300,  491,  495. 

Horatio  M.,  309. 

H.  N.,  365. 

Peter  A.,  315- 
Bristol,  Sherlock,  362. 
Brockway,  Diodate,  290,  319,  382,   366 

Thomas,  365. 
Bronson,  George  F.,  421. 

Thomas,  326,  497. 
Brooks,  Anson  P.,  403. 

Asahel  L.,  357. 

Charles,  326. 

David,  324,  494. 

Edward  F.,  380,  455,  498,  506. 


Index  of  Names. 


535 


Brooks,  John  F.,  325. 

Thomas,  351. 
Brown,  Abraham,  463. 
Aarou,  308,  380,  392,  412. 
Clark,  485. 
Daniel,  264. 
David,  347. 
Frederick  H.,  175. 
Guernsey,  325. 
Horatio  "W.,  331. 
John,  352. 
Joshua  R.,  391,  485. 
Nehemiah,  340. 
Oliver,  393, 

Oliver,  Jr.,  353,  393,  428. 
Samuel  R.,  181. 
Solyman.  314. 
S.  S.,  174. 
William,  329,  390. 
Browuell,  Grove  L.,  448,  449,  474. 
Brownson,  David,  318,  444,  462. 
Brundage,  Abner,  146,  351. 
Bryan,  George  A.,  368,  497,  502. 
Bryant,  Sidney,  311,  346,  376. 
Buchanan,  James,  176. 
Buckingham,  Daniel,  394. 
Samuel  G.  415. 
Stephen,  457. 
Thomas,  3,  461,  506. 
Thomas,  305. 
Buckley,  C.  H.  A.,  505. 
Budington,  William  I.,  138,  330,  425. 
Buell,  John  C.,  326. 

Samuel,  290,  300,  368. 
Buenner,  J.  Conrad,  407, 
Buffett,  Platt,  290,  329,  395,  484. 

William  L.,  484. 
Bugbee,  George,  517. 
Bulkley,  Gershom,  27,  29,  290,  442, 506 
Gershom,  290,  311,  368,  507. 
John,  364,  390. 

Bull,  Edward,  145,  360,  414.  468. 
Eliphalet,  514. 
Nehemiah,  308. 
Norris,  408. 
Richard  B.,  319,  360. 
Bullard,  Charles  H.,  326,  439,  450,  471 
Bumond,  Stephen  H.,  305. 
Bunnell,  John,  324.  502. 
Burbank,  Caleb,  173. 
Burdett,  Michael,  382. 
Burge,  Caleb,  390. 
Burgess,  Archibald,  340,  503. 
Bennett  B.,  496. 
Mrs.  Ebenezer,  155. 
Burleigh,  Charles,  517. 

Lucien,  517. 
Burke,  Abel  B.,  303. 
Burnet,  Matthias,  458. 
Bnrnhnm,  William,  143,412. 

Burr, ,  392. 

Aaron,  394. 


Burr,  Enoch  F.,  334,  395, 402. 

Zalmon  B.,  334,  3U5,  469,  503. 
Burritt,  Blackleach,  300. 

Stephen  W.,  173. 
Burroughs,  Eden,  290,  300,  413. 

William,  330. 
Burt,  Enoch,  170,  418. 

Federal,  473. 

Gideon,  468. 

Gideon,  Jr.,  336. 

Juirus,   146,  315.  359. 
Burton,  Asa,  290,  397,  485,  518. 

Nathan,  303,  427,  469-70. 

Nathaniel  J.  326,  386,  406. 

William,  365. 
Bush,  Charles  P.,  311,  397. 
Bushee,  William  A.,  326. 
Busline!!,  Calvin,  499. 

George,  305,  396,  445,  496. 

Harvey,  344,  401,  418,  462. 

Horace,  146-7,  405,  417,  445. 

Horace,  403. 

Jackson,  J.,  871,  462. 

Jedediah,  169,  462,  499,  518. 

Richard,  44. 

William,  319,  380,  487,  499. 
Butler,  E.,  155. 

Mrs.  E.,  155, 

Charles  F.,  300,  395. 

David,  408. 

Francis  E.,  487. 
Butterfield,  George,  309. 

Oliver  B.,  319,417. 
Butts,  Daniel  B.,  346,  484. 
Byington,  Cyrus,  155,  351. 

Joel,  170. 

Swift,  320,  351. 
Byles,  Mather,  443, 
Cabot,  Marston,  488. 
Calhoun,  Geo.   A.,  145,   146,  234,  449, 
473,  496. 

Henry,  496. 
Camp,  Abraham,  300. 

Albert  B.,  355,  451, 

Charles  W.,  445. 

David  N.,  248. 

Henry  B.,  329,  373,  447. 

Ichabod,  324,  373. 

John,  324. 

Joseph  E.,  311,  451,  373. 

Samuel,  318,  469,  473,  477. 
Campbell,  Allen,  431. 

Robert,  357. 

Campfield,  Robert  B.,  445. 
Canfield,  Joseph  A.,  462. 

Philo,  357,  469. 

Sherman  B.,  174. 

Thomas,  290,  324,  472. 
Cannon,  Josiah  W.,  314. 
Capron,  William  B.,  180. 
Carey,  Henry  L.,  460. 
Carle,  John  I.,  508. 


536 


Index  of  Names. 


Carlton,  Marcus  M.,  309. 
Carpenter,  Asa,  170. 
Charles  C.,  320. 
Chester,  375. 

Eber,  450. 
Carrington,  Abijah,  425. 

George,  300,  401,  411,  451. 
Carroll^  Daniel  L.,  416. 
Carruth,  James  H.,  326. 
Carter,  William,  175,  433. 
Carver,  Thomas  G.,  475. 
Gary,  Lamson,  334. 

Samuel,  339. 
Case,  Benajah,  323,  433. 

Francis  H.,  374,  390. 

Henry,  320,  3o9. 

Ira,  309. 

William,  362,  422,  454. 
Catlin,  Jacob,  315,  408. 

Grin,  172. 

Russell,  408. 

Simeon,  408. 

W.  Edwin,  326,  456. 
Catto,  Wm.  T.,  439. 
Caulkin,  James,  339. 
Cazier,  Matthias,  431,  447. 
Chadwick,  Jabez,  431. 
Chalker,  Isaac,  375. 
Chamberlain,  Charles,  343,  375. 

E.  B.,474. 

T.,  150. 

Walter,  383. 

Mrs.  W.,  155. 
Champion,  George,  155,  180,  499. 

Jndah,  290,  416. 
Champlin,  Edward  W.,  319. 

William,  462. 
Chandler,  J.  E.,  155,  437. 

John,  300. 

Joseph,  326,  440. 

George,  437. 

Thomas  R.  517.' 
Chapin,  A.  L.,  111,406. 

Alonzo  B.,  477. 

Calvin,  145,  146,  151,  152,  153,  170, 
209,211,215,  219,  220,  290,  308, 
471,518. 

Chester,  376. 

M.,  491. 

Reuben,  309,  477. 

Seth,  477. 

Charlton,  Frederick,  459. 
Chandler,  Augustus,  457. 

John  E.,  457. 

Joseph,  457. 

Channing,  Henry,  145,  275,  325,  443. 
Chaplin,  Benjamin,  361. 

Ebenezer,  290. 
Chapman,  Benjamin,  318,  479. 

Daniel,  394,  462. 

Charles,  462. 

Edward  D.,  320. 


Chapman,  Frederick  W.,  326,  371,  478, 
486,  504, 

Epaphras,  155,  377. 

Ezekiel  J.,  170,  336,  462. 

Henry,  169,  309. 

Hezekiah,462. 

James  D.,  366,  468,514. 

Jedediah,  290,  311,  377. 

Nathan  F.,  499. 

Robert,  12. 

William  R.,  318. 

William  W.,  326. 
Charpiot,  Louis  E.,  336,  368. 
Chase,  Amos,  172,  290,  429. 

Charles  Y.,  383,  475. 
Chauncey ,  485. 

Charles,  356,  486. 

Charles,  10,  355,  486. 

Elnathan,  324,  373. 

Isaac,  486. 

Israel,  486. 

Nathaniel,  44,  143,  290,  372,  510. 

Samuel,  512. 
Cheever,  Henry  T.,  411,  498. 

Samuel,  436. 

Thomas,  436. 
Cheney,  Greenleaf,  320. 
Cherry,  Mrs.  Henry,  155. 
Chesebrough,  Amos  S.,  311,  362,  (Amos 

L.)  390,  421,  485. 
Chesnut,  D.  D.,  330. 
Chester,  Charles  H.,  460. 

Edward,  155,  437. 

John, 311, 507. 

Richard,  408. 

William,  311. 

Albert  T.,  460. 

Child,  Willard,  380,  460,  457. 
Chipman,  Richard  M.,  318, 399, 408,  514. 
Church,  Aaron,  290,  407. 

John  H.',  336. 

Moses  B.,  482. 

Selden,  311. 
Churchill,  Ebenezer,  336. 

John,  146,  330,  417. 

Silas,  311,442. 
Clap,  Thomas,  143,  509. 
Clapp,  Charles  W.,  364,  471. 

Erastus,  318,  352,  506. 

Nathaniel,  486. 

Rufus  C.,309. 
Clark,  Alanson,  425. 

Allen,  482-3,  510. 

Ansel  R.,  174. 

Asa  F.,  340,  358. 

Azariah,  363. 

Clinton,  470. 

Daniel  A.,  478. 

Eber  S.,  376,  466,  514. 

Elam,  396. 

Elias,  312,  462. 

Eli  B.,  330,  497. 


Index  of  Names. 


537 


Clark,  Frederick  G.,  396. 

George,  3.V2. 

Gideon  C.,  174,  477. 

Henry,  311,  318,  352,  479. 

Henry  S.,  450. 

James  A.,  329, 368,  371,  382,  403,  415 

J.  Bowen,  376. 

Jehu,  425,  446,  496,  (John.) 

John,  300,  318,  496. 

Jonas  B.,  34o. 

Joseph,  311. 

Lather,  358. 

Samuel,  412. 

Saul,  345,  346,  379,462. 

Sumner,  375. 

Tertius  S.,  400. 

Thomas  G.,  340. 

W.  Simpson,  456. 

Walter,  318,  358,  388,  405. 

William  B.,  326,  438,  449. 
Clary,  Dexter,  4-Jn. 
Cleaveland,  E.  L.,  146,  439. 

Aaron,  170,  334,  400,  459. 

Charles,  459. 

Ehenezer,  358. 

Ed  ward,  403. 

James,  475. 

James  B.,  326,  373,  393. 

John,  358. 

Richard  R,  459,  610. 
Clift,  William,  398,  485. 
Clinton,  Isaac,  325. 
Clute,  John  J.,  340. 
Coan,  George,  325,  434,  414. 

Titus,  155,414. 
Cobb,  Nathaniel,  172. 

Henry  N.,  181. 
Coburn*  David  N.,  336,  489. 
Coe,  Alvan,  171. 

David  B.,  311,  425. 

Harvey,  172. 

Jonathan,  513. 

Noah,  290,  325,  373,  396,  446,  451. 

Samuel  G.,  303,369. 

Truman,  372. 

Wales,  372. 
Coit,  Gurdon  S.,  443. 

Joseph,  458,  463,  518. 

Joshua,  444. 

Thomas  W.,  443. 

Coggswell,  James,  144,  253,  290,  337, 
339,  358.  473. 

Jonathan,  187,  188,  432. 
Cole,  Erastus,  174,  347. 
Collins,  Aaron,  325,  453. 

Ambrose,  417. 

Augustus  B.,  342,  345,  417,  453,  467, 
504. 

Daniel,  290,  324,  399,  453. 

Levi,  477. 

Nathaniel,  290,  383,  423-4. 

Timothy,  290,  399,  416. 


Colman,  Eliphalet  B.,  430,  451. 

George  W.,  305. 
Colt,  William  U.,  306,  405. 
Colton,  Aaron  M.,  303. 

Benjamin,  143,  500. 

Chester,  145,  172,  309,  452,  461,   501 

Eli,  392,  482,501. 

Erastus,  329, 346,  361,  400,  406,  502. 

George,  169,  290,  308,  349,601. 

George,  501. 

John  O.,  326,  440. 

Joeiah,  318. 

Henry  M.,  331,  374,440,  516. 

Theron  G.,  326,  454. 

Walter,  309. 

Willis  S.,  320,  506. 
Comstock,  David  C.,  329,  433,  469. 
Conant,  Shubael,  339. 
Cone,  Jonathan,  319,  350,  498. 

ReviloJ.,421,  475.  ' 

Salmon,  336,  364,  391. 
Connitt,  George  W.,  309,  871,  483. 
Cook, ,  267. 

Amos  S.,  155. 

Bezel,  (Rozell,)  325,  429. 

Miss  Delia,  153. 

Ebenezer,  497. 

Elisha  B.,  418. 

Elisha  W.,  318,  400, 437. 

NehemiahB.,485. 

Oliver  D.,  325,  461,475 

Samuel,  11,355. 

Samuel,  369. 
Cooley,  Henry,  505. 

Orin,  325. 

Timothy  M.,  325,473,  519. 
Cooper,  Joseph  C.,  175. 
Copeland,  Mrs.  C,  C.,  155. 
Copp,  Jonathan,  485. 
Cornelius,  Elias,  168,  172,  318. 
Cornell,  William  M.,282,  516. 
Corning,  J.  Leonard,  331,  468. 

W.  H.,  405. 
Cornwall,  John,  449. 
Cornwell,  Wait,  311,424. 
Cossit,  PearlS.,  306,  501. 
Cotton,  John,  Jr.,  506. 
Couch,  Paul,  348. 
Cowles,  Chauncey  D.,  388,  464. 

George,  315. 

Giles  H.,  171,  329,  350,  388. 

Henry,  173,  315,  364. 

John  P.,  318,  364. 

Orson,  340,  382,  408. 

Pitkin,  448,  479. 

Samuel  H.,  311. 

Whitfield,  275.  311,  376,478. 
Cox.  Samuel  H.f  441.  . 

Craft,  Eleazar,  342. 
Craghead,  Thomas,  456. 
Crampton,  Ralph  S.,  401,  418. 

456. 


538 


Index  of  Names. 


Crandall,  Phinea«,  353. 
Crane,  David,  496. 

Ethan  B.,  461. 

James  B.,  423-4. 

John  R.,  423. 

Oliver,  180. 

Robert,  348. 

Crittenden,  Richard,  320,452. 
Crocker,  Daniel,  329,  366,  434,  469. 

Peter,  363. 

Zebulon,  146,  311,  368,  507. 
Crofut,  Eleazar,  465. 
Crosby,  Stephen,  376,  397,489. 

Stephen,  Jr.,  340. 
Cross,  Marcus,  455. 
Crossman,  E.  N.,  320. 

Joseph  W.,  473. 
Croswell,  Andrew,  199,  290,  415. 

Harry,  501. 
Crow,  John  F.,  172. 
Cruikshanks,  James,  326. 
Cumpston,  Edward  A.,  330. 
Cundall,  Isaac  IS.,  502. 
Cunningham,  J.  W.,  509. 
Curtiss,  Caleb,  318. 

Dan  C.,  330,  351,  394,  420. 
Curtis,  Ellery,  174. 

Erastus,  326,  420. 

Jeremiah,  290,  478-9. 

Jonathan,  516. 

Lucius,  364,  490,  olo. 

Samuel  I.  (J.)  326.  377,  420,  491. 

William  B.  410,  448,  474. 

William  S.,  330. 
Cutler,  El  bridge  G.,  330. 

Carroll,  331. 

Manasseh,  380,  519. 

Timothy,  263,  265,  486,  519. 
Daggett,  David,  121,  212,  438. 

Herman,  160. 

JSaphtali,  182,  184. 

Oliver  E.,  146.  329,  405,  438. 
Dana,  James,  55,  166,  291,  323,  436,  493. 

Joseph,  342,  465. 

Josiah,  339. 

Sylvester,  169,  334,  343. 
Darling,  Charles  C.,  437. 

Thomas,  324. 

Dartmouth,  Lord,  149,  165. 
Davenport  ,  489, 

Ebenezer,  395. 

James,  198. 

James  R.,  329. 

John,  8,  23,  25,  28,  435,  483. 

John,  10,436,483. 
Davidson,  David  B.,  318,  425. 
Davies,  Thomas  F.,   145,  300,   394,  410. 

469,  496. 
Day,  George  E.,  330. 

Guy  B.,312,  365. 

Henry  N.,  146,  329,  40G,  445,  496. 

Hiram,  340,  306,418,  435,  482-3. 


Day,  Horace,  311. 

Israel,  170,  255,  389,479. 

Israel  C.,  480, 

Jeremiah,  144, 145, 165,  318,  365,  444, 
475,  499. 

Jeremiah,  145,  146,  184,211,  291,  329, 
445. 

Mills,  318. 

Samuel,  514. 
Darrow,  Nathan  B. 
Davis,  Emerson,  341. 

G.  T.,  220. 

Henry,  291,336. 

James,  516.. 

James  M.,  340. 

Joel,  172. 

S.  R.,  312. 
Dean,  Henry,  303. 

Seth,  339. 

Sidney  L.,  468. 
DeForest,  Henry  A.,  155,  180,  474. 

William  B.,  329.  497. 
Delevan,  George  E.,  402. 
Deming,  Oliver,  311. 

Friend  A.,  oil. 
Denison,  Andrew  C.,  309,  403,  499. 

John,  170. 

Thomas,  256. 

Joseph,  339,  421. 
Dennis,  Rodney  G.,  476. 
Denton,  Richard,  483,  506. 
De  Tocqueville,  137. 
De  Verell,  Thomas  T.,  424. 
De  Voe,  Isaac,  357. 
Devotion,  Ebenezer,  143,  487. 

Ebenezer,  338,  473,  487. 

John,  487,  498. 
Dewey,  Amasa,  326,  366. 

Ansel,  :><)9. 

Dey,  Richard  V.,  303,  394. 
Dibble,  Ebenezer,  299. 

William  F.,  300. 
Dickerman,  George  A.,  430. 
Dickinson,  Austin,  309. 

Charles,  311,  348,  401. 

David,  365. 

Daniel  S.,  372. 

Erastus,  361,  864. 

James  T.,  155,  180,  318,  422,  489. 

JoelL.,  (S.,)451,  464. 

Jonathan,  291. 

Moses,  143,  291,  458. 
Dickson,  Andrew  F.,  820. 
Dill,  James  H.,  175,  330,  509. 
Dimock,  Edwin,  387,  440,  455. 

Samuel  R.,  336,  455,  509. 
Dimon,  Oliver,  386, 
Dimond,  Her.ry,  155. 
Dixon,  William,  384. 

William  E.,  Jr.,  309. 
Donne,  Hiram,  8<>::. 
Dobie,  David,  439. 


Index  of  Names 


539 


Dodd,  Stephen,  291,  379,  431 

S.  <;.,  425. 

Dole,  George  T.,  818. 
Doolittle,  Edgar  J.,  311,  362,  409,  494. 

Giles,  318. 

Dorman,  Lester  M.,  418. 
Dorr,  Edward,  404. 
Dorrance,  Gordon,  291,  339,  493,519. 

John,  352. 

John  G.,  339. 

Samuel,  493. 
Douglas,  Nathan,  443. 

Solomon  J.,  331. 
Dow,  Daniel,  145,  291,  339,  343,  483. 

K.hvard,  324,  461. 

Hendric,  339. 
Downer,  John  C.,  334,  353. 

Miss  Lucinda,  155. 
Downs,  Charles  A.,  458. 

Cyrus,  478. 

Draper,  Nathaniel,  339. 
Driinmiond,  William,  433. 
Dudley,  Elias,  462. 

J.  L.,  146,  426. 

Martin,  330,  380,  399,  454. 
Dulles,  John  W.,  180. 
Dunham,  George,  346. 

Lewis,  420. 
Dunning,  Andrew,  463,  488. 

Benjamin,  300,  360,  419. 

Edward   0.,  329,  438. 
Durant,  Henry,  329. 
Dutton,  Aaron,  145,  318,  398,  498. 

Henry,  217. 

Matthew  K.,  318,  486,  498. 

S.  W.  S.,  118,  146,  330,  399,  437. 

Thomas,  329.  343,  399,  452. 

Warren  B.,  415. 
Dwight,  Benjamin  W.,  330. 

Edwin  W.,  160,  318. 

James  M.  B.,  326. 

Josiah,  516. 

Nathaniel.  309,  334,  499. 

Sereno  E.,  437. 

Timothy,  151,  164,  166,  182,  183,  184. 
207.  250,  302,  394,  412,  438,518. 

Timothy,  Jr.,  182,183. 

Timothy,  183,  184,  326,  386. 

T.  M.,513. 

Dye,  Charles  B.,  320,  490. 
Dyer,  Francis,  422. 

'Hiram,  503. 
Eames,  Marshall,  431. 
Eaton, ,  324. 

Jacob,  334,  403. 

John  H.,  326. 

Samuel,  435. 

Samuel,  323. 

Samuel  W.,  326. 

Sylvester,  458. 
Eddy,  Henry,  326,  433,  452. 

Hiram,  448. 


Eddy.  Zachary,  348. 
Edgar,  John.  :J2r,.  387. 

Kdmamis,  John,  '.',^l>. 

Edson,  Ambrose,  336,  345,  851. 

Solomon  W.,  326. 
Edwards,  Daniel,  3<)8. 

L  Krskine,  406,  485. 

Jonathan,  181,197,  198,318,  349,  850, 
481. 

Jonathan,    144,    104,     166,   363,  437, 
484. 

Justin,  208. 

Pierpont,  '27','. 

Timothy,  5,  48,  143,  291. 

Tryon, 146,  406, 448. 
Eel  Is*  Cushing,  309. 

Edward,  143,368. 

Edward,  353. 

James,  311,  336,  375. 

John,  311,  390,  433. 

Nathaniel,  291,  485. 

Ozias,  344. 

Samuel,  165,  311,  447. 
Kirirlcston,  Nathaniel  II.,  312,  382,  436. 

U.  S.,  394. 
Elderkin,  Joshua,  400. 

John,  326. 

Eldred,  Henry  B.,  329. 
Eldridge,  Azariah,  315 

Joseph,  125,  146,  3lG,  326,  447. 
Elmer,  Hiram,  501. 

Jonathan,  :>ou, 

Elwood,  David  M.,  303,  457,  491. 
Elliot,  Andrew,  144,  385. 

Andrew,  Jr.,  303,  386,  444. 

Henry  B.,  483,  496. 

Jacob,  143,  391. 

Jared,  143,  291,  363,  399. 

John,  144,  145,  319,  417,  443,  473. 

Joseph,  27,  29,  399. 

Moses,  171. 

Nathan,  318. 

Samuel  II.,  330,  505,  515. 
Ellis,  John,  291,  3.88. 

Jonathan,  339, 

Stephen,  Jr.,  834,  504. 

}Irs.  Sylvester,  155. 
Ellsworth,  J.  C.,  155. 

William  W.,  168. 

John,  383. 
Ely, ,  (Sep.)  258. 

David,  144,  145,  402,  410,  518. 

David  D.  F.,  415. 

Elias  P.,  319,  402. 

EzraS.,  291,339,415,  499. 

Henry,  413. 

Isaac  M  ,  305,  386. 

Israel,  339. 

James,  155,  314,  349. 

Mrs.  James,  155. 

Jonathan  T.,  415. 

John,  319,  347,402,  454. 


540 


Index  of  Names. 


Ely.  Judah.311. 

Richard,  291,  360,  402,  454. 

Samuel,  402. 

Samuel  11.,  319. 

William,  319,  362,  455,  492,  501. 

William  D.,  330. 

Zabdiel  R.,  319,  371,  402. 

Zebulon,  145,  165,  325,  402,  414. 
Emerson,  Brown,  489. 

Charles  H.,  437. 

Daniel  H.,  329. 

Edward  B.,  357,  428 

Ralph,  447. 
Emery,  Josiah  S.,  319. 
Emmons,  Nathaniel,  291,  297,  311,  426. 
Estabrook,  Hobart,  339,  358,  426. 

Samuel,  358. 

Eustis,  William  T.,  146,  440. 
Everest,  Cornelius  B.,  145,  3^9,  349,  367, 

458,  466,  510. 
Everett,  Charles,  495, 

Noble,  318,  509. 
Everleth,  Philip,  175. 
Fabrique,  Charles,  318. 
Fairchild,  Joy  H.,  378,  399. 
Fairbanks,  Eleazar,  171,  334. 

Thaddeus,  358. 
Fairneld,  M.  W.,  175. 
Farnham,  Lucien,474. 
Farrand,  Daniel,  291,  357. 
Fenn,  Benjamin,  173,  425,  462. 

Nathan,  144,  324,  345. 

Stephen,  192,  311,  498. 

Stephen,  320,  366,  490. 
Fellows,  Linus,  448. 

S.  H.,  498. 
Ferry  (Terry)  Adolphus,  501. 

Alpheus,  309. 

Fessenden,  Thomas  K.,  146,  382,  460. 
Field,  David  D.,  145,  146,  172,  291,  325 
400,  410,  418. 

John,  171. 

Joseph,  336. 

Henry  M.,  319,400. 

Thomas  P.,  443. 

Timothy,  325,  418. 
Fisher,  George  P.,  184,  438. 

Jesse,  474. 

Samuel,  508. 

William,  173,  370. 
Finley,  Samuel,  120. 
Finney,  Charles  G.,  495. 
Fiah,  Elisha,  334,  398. 

Joseph,  143,  291,456,  519. 
Fisk,  Franklin  W.,  326. 

John,  291,  380. 

Phineas,  400. 

Samuel,  311. 

Samuel,  417. 

Warren  C.,  174,  359,419. 

Wilbur,  213. 
Fitch,  Charles,  340,  342,  403. 


Fitch,  Charles,  406. 

Ebenezer,  171,  329,  358,  459. 

Eleazar  T.,  146,  182,  183,  184,  438. 

Elijah,  510. 

Jabez,  458,  459,  519. 

James,  27,  29,  291,  458,  461. 

Octavius,  173. 

Fletcher, ,  485. 

Flint,  Abel,  145,  147,  405. 
Henry,  458. 
Timothy,  173. 

Forbes,  Samuel  B.,  306,  418. 
Forward,  Abel,  376. 

Justus,  291. 
Foster,  Dan,  466. 
Emerson,  380. 
Isaac,  334,  404,  420,  504. 
Lemuel,  309,408. 
Lewis,  329,  363,  408. 
Foot,  Calvin,  365, 
Foote,  John,  145,  324,  355,  361. 
Joseph,  309. 
William  C.,  319. 
William  H.,  365. 
Fowler,  Abraham,  339,  359,    392,  427, 

431,468. 
Amos,  398,  453. 
Andrew,  399. 
Bancroft,  309,  327. 
John  D.,  325. 
John  H.,  385,  399. 
Joseph.  311,377,425. 
Orin,  172,  303,  392,  461. 
William  C..  373.  418,473. 
Francis,  Amzi,  309,  501. 
Daniel  D.,  448. 
James  II.,  499. 
John  M.,  309,  483. 
Freeman,  John  R.   340,  342,  357,  361. 

Nathaniel,  325,  379,  394,  415,462. 
French,  Henry  S.  G.,  180 
Lewis.  425. 
William  G.,  425. 
Frink,  Elisha,  383. 
Frissell,  Ama&a  C.,  330. 
Frisbie,  Alvah  L.,  342. 
Levi,  150.  155,  355. 
Frost,  Daniel,  211,  219. 

Daniel  C.,  3'28,  358,  371,  403,  457. 
Daniel  D.,  469. 
Henry,  171,  325. 
Frothingham,  Ebenezer,  258,  291,  424. 

Fuller, ,  507. 

Caleb,  311. 
Daniel,  311. 
Edward  J.,  464. 
Francis  L.,  840. 
Henry,  455. 
Jonathan,  311,  467. 
John, 255,  256,  257,  463. 
Joseph.  470. 
William,  340. 


Index  of  Names. 


541 


Gaerer,  Charles,  155,  353. 

William,  365,  375. 
Gale,  Nahum,  189,  309. 
Gallaudet,  Thomas  II..  404. 
Gallup,  James  A.,  320,  384,  416. 
Galpin,  Charles,  5U4. 

Samuel  II.,  309. 
Gainmil,  John,  437. 
Gardner, ,  482. 

C.  W.,  406. 

Robert  D.,  377,  383,  428. 
Garnsey,  James  K.,  311. 
Gates,  Aaron,  345,  407,501. 

Hiram  N.,  309. 
Gay,  Ebenezer,  291,  487. 

Ebe'nezer,  Jr.,  487. 
Gaylord,  Asahel.  171,  447. 

Flavel  S.,  172,  309.  501. 

Nathaniel,  145,  291,  457,  501. 

Reuben,  318,  447. 

William,  143,  508. 
Gazley,  Sayres,  463. 
Geikie,  Archibald,  363. 
Gelston,  Maltby,  291,  329,  355,  421,  475. 

Maltby,  Jr.,  475. 

Mills  B.,  33(1,  475. 
Gibbs,  Daniel  (John,)  349. 

James  B.,  330. 

Josiah  W.,  183.  184. 
Gibson,  Hugh,  345. 
Giddings,  Salmon,  168,  173,  408. 
Gilbert,  Charles  T.,  329. 

Edwin  R.,  326,  389,  492. 

Samuel,  409. 

William  II.,  330,  364,  392. 
Giles,  John,  491. 
Gillett,  Alexander,  165,  169,   200,   291, 
327,  377,  490,514. 

Eliphalet,  365,  519. 

Ezra  II.,  365. 

Moses,  314. 

Nathan,  389. 

Noah,  393. 

Timothy  P.,  145,  291,  314,  354,  491. 
Gilmore,  George,  300. 
Glas,  John,  284. 
Glassbrook,  James,  473. 
Gleason,  Anson,  156,  174,  404,  427. 

Mrs.  Anson,  156. 

Charles  F.,  309. 

Harvey,  340. 

Henry,  372,  465,  489. 
Goddard,  Charles  G.,  501. 

John,  336. 
Goffe,  Joseph,  329. 
Goodale,  Joshua,  152 

M.  S.,  336. 
Gold,  Hezekiah,  486. 

Hezekiah,  Jr.,  300,  366,  486. 

Thomas  R.,  3(i7. 
Goodell,  Abner,  455. 

Constance  L.,  433. 


Goodell,  Edwin,  306. 

Jesse,  :;i-J. 

Joel,  IT'.!. 

<; lell,  Jonathan  W.,  171. 

Goodenow,  Smiih  B.,  470. 
Goodhtie,  John   N.,  329. 
Goodman,  Epaphras,  145,  489,  501. 
Goodrich,  Chauncey,  14H,  3m i,  437,  497. 

Chauncev  A.,  146,  183,  184,  423,  438, 
473,  ,->ui i. 

Elizur,  144,  163,  372,  412,  518. 

Mezekiah,  325. 

Joseph,  156,  180,311. 

Samut'l,  145,  2»i,  325,  345,  373,  470. 

Williiim  11.,  ;;:jn,  :{.-,«,  437. 
Goodsell,  Dana,  325,  379. 

John,  383. 
Goodwin,  Daniel  E.,  509. 

David  E,  :;i". 

Epaphras,  309. 

Harley,  315.  357,  495. 

Henry  M.,  305. 

"William,  273. 

William,  435. 

William,  345,  352,  401. 
Goodyear,  George,  346. 
Gould,  Ebenezer,  421. 

Daniel,  173. 

David  R.,475. 

Jesse,  308, 

Mark,  174. 

Ruggles,  314. 

Vincent,  386. 

Vinson,  475. 

William  R.,  172,  345,  490. 
Graham,  Chauncey,  300. 

Mrs.  Isabella,  191. 

John,  291,  487,  482. 

John,  Jr.,  291,  300,  482,  505. 

Richard  C.,  318. 

Sylvester,  505. 
Granger,  Arthur,  420-4,  487 
Grant,  Joel,  330,  344,  364. 
Graves,  Benjamin,  258,  424. 

Josiah,  318. 

Sterling,  311,  407. 

William,  170,  381. 
Gray,  Cyrus  W.,  482,  495 
Green,  Beriah,  334,  379. 

Jonathan  S.,  156. 

]Sh-s.  J.  S.,  156. 

William  B.,  326. 
Greenwood,  — ,  136. 

John,  347,  444. 
Gregory,  Elnathan,  300. 
Gridley,  Elijah,  311,412,  418. 

Elnathan,  156,  180,  309,  388. 

Frederick,  379,  383,  498. 

John,  329,  412. 

Uriel.  145,  412,  497. 
Griffin,  E  D.,  199,  200,  329,  387,  421-C 
434. 


542 


Index  of  Names. 


Griffin,  John  S.,  495. 

Griggs,    Leverett,    146,  329,  350,  440, 

454. 
Griswold,  Benjamin,  Jr.,  308. 

Benjamin,  330. 

Charles,  219. 

Paring  0.,  391,  497. 

George,  199,  379. 

John,  415,  519. 

Samuel,  342,  379,  402,  406,  440. 

Sherman,  399. 

Stanley,  274,  444,  490. 
Grosvenor,  Charles  P.,  340,  358,  465. 

Daniel,  465. 

David  A.,  3 18,  419. 

Ebenezer,  324,  465. 

Lemuel,  516. 

Mason,  326,  340,  419,  465,  475. 

Nathan,  339,  465. 
Grout,  Lewis,  180,  330. 
Grow,  William,  342. 
Guernsey,  Ebenezer,  373. 

Jesse,  V?  2,  498,515. 

Jesse  W.,  475. 

William  H.,  451. 
Guiteau,  Sheridan,  447. 
Gulick,  Mrs  Peter  J.,  156. 
Gulliver,  John  P.,  460. 
Gunn,  Lewis,  496. 
Gurley,  John,  166,  385. 

Ralph  R.,  385,  440. 
JTaile,  Ashbel  B.,  326. 
Haight,  Sylvanus,  291,  347,  480,  508. 
Hale,  Aaron,  324. 

Albert,  325,  390. 

David,  325,  368,416. 

Enoch,  291,  339,  368. 

Nathan,  318. 
Hall,  Albert,  324. 

Avery,  420. 

Mrs.  C.,  156. 

Daniel,  334. 

Edwin,  146,  220,  458. 

Edwin,  Jr.,  303,  435,  458. 

E.  Edwin,  330,  398. 

George,  360,  377,  503. 

Gordon,  330,  509. 
!    Judson,  318. 

Lvman,  355. 

Ogden,  408,  466,  491. 

Robert  B.,  326. 

Samuel,  143,  291,  361. 

Theophilus,  420. 

Mrs.  William,  156. 
Hallock,  Gerard,  441. 

Jeremiah,  169,  200,  359. 

William  A.,  306. 
Hal  ping,  Ebenezer,  340,  376. 
Halsey,  Herman,  173. 
Hamilton,  David  H.,  440. 
Hammond,  Charles,  336. 
llanford,  William,  458. 


Hanks,  S.  W.,  455. 
Hanna,  William,  318. 
Harding,  Charles,  181. 

Mrs.  Charles,  156, 
Harris,  Moses  T.,  409. 

Timothy,  17<». 

Walter,"  291,  366. 

William,  443. 

Harrison,    Fosdick,   346,    348,  355,  448, 
452,  472,  479. 

Gaorge  J.,  388,427, 

Jared,  324,  355,  362. 

Roger,  291,  325,  354,  448. 

Timothy,  325. 
Harrower,  David,  170. 
Hart,  Asahel,  448. 

Burdett,  146,  175,  330,  386,  433. 

Edson,  173. 

Ira,  145,  170,  176,  329,  351,  424,  485. 

John,  388,  417. 

John  C.,  449. 

Levi,  58,  144,  165,  166,  297,  308,  334, 
397,  479. 

Levi  W.,433. 

Lucas,  171,  314,  352,514. 

Luther,  145,  391,  464,  491. 

William,  311,  418,  461. 
Hartshorn,  Elijah,  334,  389. 
Hartwell,  Charles,  309. 

Moses,  318. 

Harvey,  Joseph,  145, 160,  220,  318,  390, 
401,  499. 

Sylvester,  325. 

W.  Nye,  347,  425. 
Hanford,  Thomas,  457. 

William,  172. 
Hanks,  Steadman  W.,  311. 
Hanmer,  J.  G.,  441. 

Henry,  375. 
Harriman,  John,  435-6. 
Haskell,  Daniel,  314,  397. 

Ezra,  306. 

Mrs.  Sarah,  156. 
Hastings,  Joseph,  257. 
Haven,  John,  336. 

Havens,  Daniel  William,  334,  379,  459. 
Hawes,  Erskine  J.,  306,  405,  464. 

Joel,  85,  190,  404. 

Josiah,  401,  449. 

Josiah  B.,  314,  495. 

Prince,  173,  314,  390,  495,  515. 
Hawley,  Gideon,  300. 

James  A.,  309,  470. 

P.  T.,  345. 

Ransom,  300,  357. 

Rufus,  291,344. 

Stephen,  324.  346. 

Stiles,  325. 

Thomas,  470. 

William  A.,  355,  411. 

Zerah  K.,  174,  329,  480. 
Hayden,  H.  C.,  428-9. 


Index  of  Names. 


543 


Hayes,  Amasa  A.,  393. 

(i  union,  393.  495.          , 

ll.-irvey,  393. 

Joel,  :;•.':;. 

Stephen,  353,  385,  422,  454,  499. 
Haynes,  John,  12. 

Joseph,  22,  24,  404,  506. 

Lemuel,  171,  259,  292,  490. 
Hazen,  Mrs.  Allen,  156. 

Austin,  318. 

James  A.,  309,  403. 

Reuben  S.,  345,  503. 

Timothy  A.,  309. 
Hazzard,  Silas  II.,  460. 
Heaton, ,  489. 

Stephen,  390. 
Hebard,  Mrs.  Story,  156. 
Heermanoe,  Edgar  L.,  320. 
Heinenvay,  Daniel,  376. 
Hemmingway,  Jacob,   143,  292,  378-9. 
Hempsted,  John  A.,  405-6,  445,  501. 
Henry.  Caleb  S.,  500. 
Henshaw,  J.  P.  K.,  424. 
Herrick,  Claudius,  336,  451,514. 

Henry,  438. 

William  I).,  469. 
Ilewit,  Ephraim,  510. 

Nathaniel,    145,    146,   209,   261,  334, 
357,  385,  443. 

Nathaniel  A.,  300,  357. 
Hibbard,  Augustine,  510. 

A.  G.,  174. 
Hickok,  Laurens  P.,  145,  300,  347,  412 

416. 
Higby.  Silas,  393. 

Stephen  C.,  175. 
Hide,  Ephraim,  339. 

Jedediah,  256. 
Higgins,  David,  165,  311. 

Daniel,  170. 

S.  Hale,  440. 
Higginson,  John,  292,  398,  461. 

David,  401. 
Higlcy,  Silas.  309. 
Hill,  David,  303. 

George  E.,  330,  373,  418. 

Isaac,  319. 

Oliver,  172. 

Hillard,  Elias  B.,  32«,  412,  401. 
Hillhouse,  James, 429. 

James,  429. 
Hinckley,  Asa  J.,  334. 

Dyer  T.  339,  392. 
Hine.  Orlo  D.,  330,  363,  414,  444,  457. 

Sylvester,  342,  398,  421. 
Hines,  W.,  219 
Ilinsdale,  Abel  K.,  156,  491. 

Charles  J.,  420. 

Theodore,  144,  165,457. 
Hitchcock,  A.  B.,  440. 

Cstleb,  491. 

H.  R.,  156,  311. 


Hitchcock,  Mrs.  J.,  156. 

Oliver,  468. 

Reuben,  329,  362,468. 

Uoirer,  361-2. 
Hoadley,  L.  Ives.  451. 
Hubiirt,  Jeremiah,  400. 

L   Smith,  33o. 

NOiili,  143,  385. 

lli>i-ington,  Deary  R.,  360. 
Holcomb,  Hiram,  320. 

Reuben,  393. 
Holley,  Horace,  325,  394,  473. 

Isr.el,  257,  392,  449. 

Platt  T.,  300,  397. 
Hollister,  Edward,  173,473. 

P.  H.,  320,  446. 
Holman,  Sidney,  380. 

Mrs.  Thomas,  156. 
Holmes,  Abiel,  292,  516. 

Edwin,  473. 

Franklin,  320. 

Joseph  T.,  489. 

Stephen,  360. 

Theodore  J.,  407. 
Holt,  Eleazar,  315,  447. 

Thomas,  325,  420. 
Homes,  Henry  A.,  329. 
Hooke,  William,  435. 
Hooker,  Asahel,  145,  165,200,  297,  311, 
351,  388,  390,  459. 

Daniel,  388. 

Edward  W.,  145,  189,  316,  391,  394, 
480. 

Horace,  163,  412,  424,  497. 

Nathaniel,  Jr.,  308,  500. 

Richard,  370,  374. 

Samuel,  387. 

Thomas,  16,23,  87,  404. 

Thomas,  412. 
Hopkins,  Asa  T.,  404,  451. 

John  H.,  213. 

Daniel,  497. 

Edward,  250. 

Josiah,  172. 

Samuel.  4!»7. 

Samuel,  292,  297,  300,  358.  455,  497. 
Hopkinson,  Benj.  B.,  320,  380,  422,  472. 
Horton,  Ezra,  491. 
Hosford,  0.,  175. 
Hosmer,  Stephen,  377. 
Hotchkin,  Beriah,  399. 
Hotchkiss,  Frederick  W.,  145,  292,  311, 
438,  461. 

Caleb,  324. 
Hough,  Miss  Elizabeth  J.,  156. 

Jesse  W.,  326. 

John,  170,  339,  358. 

Lent   S.,    326,    347,    361,    454,    455, 
4'.»4,  499. 

Lyman  C.,  420. 
HoitghtOB,  James  C.,  340,  392,  407,  492, 

435. 


544 


Index  of  Names. 


Hovey, 'Aaron,  Jr.,  339,  360. 

John,  254. 

Jonathan,  171,  419. 

Jonathan,  2d,  419. 
Howard,  Nathan,  257. 

George  A.,  326. 
Howe,  Elbridge  G.,  173. 

Benjamin,  336. 

James  II.,  318. 

Joseph,  339,  380. 

Perley,  380. 

Samuel,  397,  454. 
Howell,  Lewis  D.,  372. 

Samuel  N.,  370. 
Hoxey,  Benjamin  F.,  171. 
Hoyt,  Ard,  156,  172,300. 

Mrs.  Ard,  156. 

Darius,  433,  460. 

Darius  M.,  318. 

James,  483. 

James  S.,  433. 

Melanctlion,  458. 

Samuel,  12. 
Hubbard,  Anson,  309,  390. 

Bela,  399. 

Chauncey  H.,  318. 

George  B.,  437. 

John,  324,  420,  437. 

Jonathan,  375, 390,  401. 

Jonathan  B.,  330. 

Robert,  Jr.,  3 11,  424. 

Silas,  169. 
Hubbell,  Horatio  N.,  309. 

Stephen,  374,  429,  430,  456,  514. 
Huggins,  William  S.,  330. 
Hulin,  George  H.,  380. 
Hull,  Artemas,  515. 

A.  B.,  351. 

Hezekiah,  172. 

John  G.,  432. 

Joseph  D.,  330,  360,  406,  437,  465. 
Humphrey,  Chester,  359,  492. 

Daniel,  144. 

E.  P.,  386. 

Hector,  359. 

Heman,  145,  207,292,  314,  352,  385. 

John,  386. 

Luther,  172,  314,  352. 
Humphreys,  Daniel,  292,  323,  372. 
Hunn,  David  L.,481,  492. 

Nathaniel,  468. 
Hunt,  Daniel,  366,  465. 

John, 399. 

Nathan  S.,  342,  353,  450,  467. 

T.  D  wight,  180. 

Zadock,  442. 

Hunter,  John  H.,  355,  385. 
Huntington,  Andrew,  415. 

Asahel,  334,  389. 

Dan,  145,  415,  416,  423. 

Daniel,  324. 

Daniel,  334,  443. 


Huntington,  David,  165,   169,  258,   401, 
415,  419,  424,  472. 

Eliphalet,  144,  311,  363,  415. 

Enoch,  144,  428,  424,  474. 

Enoch  S.,  363,  370,  427,  469,  470. 

Elijah,  353. 

Elijah  B.,  334,  460,  469. 

Jedediah,  150. 

Joseph,  144,  164,  279,  367,  474. 

Joshua,  334,  443. 

John,  459. 

L.  F.  T.,  402. 

Lynde,  339,  354,  415,  451,  459. 

Nathaniel,  382. 

Nathaniel  G.,  309,  346,  472. 

Simon,  459. 

Thomas,  443. 

Hurd,  Philo  R.,  311,  355,  407. 
Hurlbut,  Joseph,  334,  443. 

Joseph,  Jr.,  444. 
Hurlbutt,  Salmon,  311. 
Hutchings,  Mrs.  S.,  156. 
Hutchins,  Charles  J.,  326. 
Hutchinson,  Aaron,  292,  311,  410. 

Eleazar  C.,  389. 

Elisha,  292,  500. 

James,  473. 

John  C.,  320. 
Hutchison,  William,  181,  331. 

Mrs.  William,  156. 
Huxley,  Milton,  490. 
Hyde,  Alvan,  334,  389. 

Charles,  185,  343,  367,  389,  459,  460, 
483. 

Eli,  170,  292,  311,389,472. 

Ephraim,  465. 

Harvey,  330,  350. 

James  T.,  334,  365,  405,  459. 

John,  314,  353,  389,  430,  467. 

Lavius,  334,  349,  382,  389,  473. 

Nathaniel  A.,  360,  371. 

Orrin,  300. 

Simeon,  459. 

Thomas  C.  P.,  336. 

William  A.,  395,412,  416,  498. 
Ide,  Alexis  W.,  482. 
Ingalls,  Calvin,  170,  342,  504.  ' 
Isham,  Chester,  309,  405,  501. 

Austin,  318,472,501. 
Ingersoll,  Elihu  P.,  326. 

John,  440. 

Jonathan,  470. 
Trwin,  Nathaniel,  166. 
Ives,  Alfred  E.,  330,  363,  437. 

Jesse,  324. 

Mark,  156,  309,  391. 

Mrs.  Mark,  156. 
Jackson,  Frederick  J.,  434. 

Henry.  318. 

William,  292,  367 
James,  John,  372,  400. 
Janes,  Edimmd,  473. 


Index  of  Names. 


545 


Janes,  Edwin,  473. 
Jenkins,  J.  L.,  «20,  437. 
Jenney,  Elisha,  326. 
Jennings,  Ebenezer,  474. 

Isaac,  31 8,  372,483. 

William  J.,  330.  349,  395. 
Jerome,  Amasa,  169,  336,  434. 

Charles,  326. 
Jesup,  Henry  G.,  484. 

Henry  H.,  181. 
Jessup,  Lewis,  451,  478. 
Jewell,  William,  475. 
Jewett,  David,  4'2't. 

Spofford  D.,  397,  422,  499,  510. 

William  11.,  397. 
Jincks,  Aliah,  172.  424. 
Jocelyn,  Simeon  S.,  439. 
Johns,  Evan,  292,  345. 
Johnson,  Abner,  324. 

Alfred,  464. 

Asa,  171. 

Caleb,  325. 

Diodate,  427. 

Edwin.  320,  488. 

Elderkin  R.,  358,  464. 

Evan  M.,  464. 

Ezra  G.,  340,  502. 

Gordon,  308,  502. 

Jacob,  300,  415. 

James,  300,  379. 

Joshua,  311,  381. 

J.  R.,468. 

Nathan,  309. 

N.  E..  502. 

Samuel,  264,  266,  292,  373,  399,  502. 

Samuel,  326. 

Sherman,  425. 

Stephen,  324,  461. 

Stephen,  156,  398,  412. 

William,  174. 
Jones,  .  483. 

Abiel,  172,308,  477. 

Daniel,  428. 

Eliphalet,  292,  386. 

Elisha  C.,  146,  334,408,  479. 

Henry,  260,  432, 

Isaac,  292,  329,  346. 

Jabez,  258. 

John,  385. 

Marcus  A.,  329. 

Warren  G.,  407,408,  418,  426,  478. 

Willard,  422. 
Judd,  Benjamin,  427. 

Jonathan,  292,  300,  497. 

Jonathan  S.,  421. 

Reuben,  300,  495. 

Timothy,  324. 
Judson,  Adoniram,  516. 

Adoniram,  Jr.,  151. 

Albert,  396. 

Andrew,  165,  169,  875. 

David,  299,  446. 


70 


Judson,  David,  812. 

K|. Ill-Mini,  300,  459,  516. 

Ephraim,  318,  358. 

Everton.  516. 

Gould  C.,  334. 

John,  375. 

John  W.,  339. 

Philo,  343,  403,  422,  456,  608,  516. 

Samuel,  516. 

Kaercher,  George  I.,  475. 
Kant,  (Kent,)  James,  428. 
Keep,  John,  314,495,519. 

John  It.,  330,  492,495. 
Kellogg,  Allyii  S.,  320,  493. 

Bela,  329/351,  374. 

Ebenezer.  292,  300,  492. 

Ebenezer,  336,458,  493. 

Martin,  361,  493. 

Samuel,  311,409. 
Kendall,  John  B.,  346. 
Kenneday,  Nathaniel,  300. 
Kennedy,  Algernon  S.,  404. 

A.  L.,  309. 
Kent,  Aratus,  487. 

Elisha,  446,  487. 

James,  491. 

Ketteltas,  Abraham,  300. 
Keyes,  John,  514. 
Kibbe,  Epaphras,  477. 
Kies,  Henry,  306,  502. 
Kilbourn,   James,    312,    355,   417,   422, 

427,  468. 

Killan,  John,  407. 
King,  Asa.  329,  413,  419,  465,  503. 

Francis.  314,  493. 

Josiah  T.,  305. 

Salmon,  169,  171,  336,  418,493. 

Walter,  145,  165,  166,  169,  325,  459. 
Kingsbury,  Addison,  450. 

Ebenezer,  170,  450. 

Cyrus,  173. 

Nathaniel.  340. 

Kingsley,  William  L.,  330,  4S7,  viii. 
Kinne,  Aaron,  164,  165,  292,  398,  416. 

Jonathan,  464. 
Kinney,  Ezra  D.,  370,  417,  434. 

Henry,  180. 

M.  p.:  HI. 

Kipp,  William  J.,  181. 
Kirby,  Joseph,  Jr.,  311. 

William,  175,  326. 
Kirkland.  Daniel,  292,  898,  416. 

Samuel,  150,  156,416.' 
Kitchell,  Harvey  D.,  465. 

Kittleton, .  434. 

Kittredge,  Charles,  (B.)  365. 
Knapp,  H.  O.,  156. 

Mrs.  H.  0.,  156. 

Isaac,  336,  447. 

Jared  0.,  175,  330,  360. 

Joshua,  165,  318,  448,  509. 

Thomas,  496. 


546 


Index  of  Names. 


Kniffin,  William  C.,  469. 
Knight,  Caleb,  336.  416,  519. 

Joseph,  482,  504. 

Merrick,  361,  409,  482. 
Knouse,  William  H.,  452. 
Knox,  James,  347,  480. 
Ladd,  Beaufort,  389. 
Lamb,  Joseph,  399. 

Henry  J.,  466,  505. 
Lamson,  Samuel,  329. 
Landon,  Seymour,  383. 
Landfear,  (Lamphear,)  Rodolphus,  353, 

429. 
Lane,  Benjamin  J.,  505. 

Louis  F.,174. 

Otis,  493. 

Simon,  339. 
Langdon,  George,  479. 

John,  191,  348,  369. 

Samuel,  389. 

Timothy,  369. 
Langhead,  James,  174. 
Langstroth,  Lorenzo  L.,  329. 
Langworthy,  Isaac  P.,  326,  457. 
Lankton,  Levi,  325,  329,  479. 

Samuel,  311. 
Lanneau,  John  F.,  180. 
Lathrop,  Barnabas,  456. 

Daniel  W.,  173,  459. 

Mrs.  E.,  156. 

John,  459. 

Joseph,  292,  459,  519. 

Leonard  E.,  145.  473,  475. 
Law,  Andrew,  334. 

Jonathan,  (George,)  426. 
Lawton,  John,  171. 

Sanford,  325. 
Lawrence,  Amos  E.,  477. 

E.  A.,  73,  189. 
Lamed, ,  168. 

William  A.,  340,  489. 
Lcadbetter,  Alexander,  346,  435,  446. 
Learning,  Jeremiah,  424. 
Learned,  Amasa,  339. 

Erastus,  145,  380,  503. 

Robert  C.,  146,  253,  345,  358,  443. 
Leavenworth,  Abner  J.,  350,  497. 

Ebenezer  J.,  497. 

Mark,  144,  292,  323,  324,  496. 
Leavitt,  Freegrace,  476. 

Jonathan,  487. 

Joshua,  210,  219,  486. 
Le  Conte,  Porter,  330. 
Lee,  Andrew,  292,  337,  403. 

Chauncey,    145,    170,  292,    318,  363 
419,  473. 

Chauncey,  314. 

Chauncey  G.,  364,  428,  431,  480. 

Jason,  379. 

Jesse,  267. 

Jonathan,  144,  323,  473. 

Samuel,  175,  412,  500. 


Lee,  Seth,  308,  379,  393. 

Williaiii  B.,  309,  387,  418. 
Leete,  Theodore  A.,  326,  399,  510. 

William,  Jr.,  324,  399. 
Le  Favor,  Amos,  454. 
Leonard,  Abiel,  516. 

A.  L.,  175. 

George,  276,337,  358. 

Joshua,  382. 

Julius  Y.,  181,  320. 

Mrs.  J.  Y.,  156. 

Samuel,  170. 
Leslie,  Jonathan,  170. 
Lewis,  Ammi,  165. 

Amzi,  292,  358,  455. 

Ichabod,  300, 477. 

Ichabod,  Jr.,  300. 

Isaac,  144,  292,  300,  396,  411,  508. 

Isaac,  Jr.,  292,  303,  396. 

John,  311,324,471. 

Judah,  499. 

Thomas,  339,  475. 

Thomas,  432. 

William  B.,  329. 

Zachary,  303. 
Lincoln,  Isaac  N.,  309. 
Linsley,  Ammi,  318,  407,  468. 

Charles  E.,  405,  480. 

Joel  H.,  146,  147,  396,  405. 
Lippitt,  Norris  G.,  380. 
Little,  Ephraim,  143,  144,  292,  364. 

Charles,  157,  180,  366. 
Livermore,  Aaron  R.,  391,  455. 
Livingston,  Gilbert  R.,  309. 

Philip,  438. 
Lobdell,  Francis,  495. 

Henry,  157,  369. 

Mrs.  H.,  157. 
Lockwood,  Benjamin,  329,  458. 

James,  157,458,  506. 

Lewis  G.,  421. 

Peter,  300,  357. 

Samuel,  144,  311,  342,  419,  458. 

William,  144,  171,  311,  379,  425. 
Long,  Waiter  R.,  430,  515. 
Loomis,  Amasa,  173,  309,  472. 

Aretas  G.,  348. 

Charles  L.,  408. 

Ebenezer,  342. 

Harvey,  490. 

Henry,  320. 

Hubbell,  171,  334,  365,  507. 
Loper,  Alonzo,  448. 

Stephen  A.,  401,  410,  418,422,453, 

459,  491,  498. 
Lord,  Benjamin,  44,  283,  292,  458,  462. 

Calvin,  425. 

Daniel  M.,  402. 

F.  E.,  175. 

Henry,  414. 

Hezekiah,  397. 

John,  336. 


Index  of  Names. 


547 


Lord,  Joseph  T.,  402. 

Nathan  L.,  157. 

Willis,  315,  357,  385,434. 
Loring,  Josephus  B.,  315. 
Losch,  Henry,  320,  440. 
Lothrop,  Elijah,  389. 
Love,  William  De  Loss,  830,  345,  440. 
Lovett,  Joseph,  339,  472. 
Low,  Thomas,  311. 
Lowe,  John  G., 
Lucas,  George  C.,  330. 
Ludlow,  Henry  G.,  439. 
Lyman,  Asa,  339,  430,  418. 

Chester  8.,  334,  432. 

Eliphalet,  292,  415,  516. 

Ephraim,  146,  315,  391,  464,  495. 

D.  B.,  157. 

Gershom  E.,  450. 

John  B.,  326,  329. 

Jonathan,  324,  462. 

Jonathan,  324. 

Joseph,  151,  292,  339,  415. 

Orange,  172,  383,  490.      . 

William,  144,  145,  165,  418,  426. 
Lynde,  Nathaniel.  2. 
Lyon,  Asa,  336,  342. 

Hervey,  173. 

Ralph,  517. 

Walter,  338,  341. 
McCall,  Salmon,  392,  461. 
McCloud,  Anson,  408. 
McClure,  David,  150,  157, 165,  292,480. 
McCord,  James  P.,  312. 
Macdonald,   James  M.f   326,  345,  443. 
McEwen,  Abel,  145,  146,  177,  274,  292, 
314,  316,  332,  443,  509. 

Robert,  329,  424,  443. 
McFarland,  Horace  H.,  320,  429. 
McGregor,  Horatio  T.,  424. 
McHarg,  Charles  K.,  305. 
Mack,  Ebenezer,  257,  379. 
McKinstry,  John.  382. 

John  A..  336,  408,  490. 
McLain,  William  M.,  329,  420. 
McLaughlin,  D.  D.,  475. 
McLean,  Alexander,  385. 

Allen,  292,  314,  476,  493. 

Charles  B.,  309,  365,  476. 

McNeil, ,  417. 

McWhorter,  Alexander,  830. 
Macy,  William  A.,  180,  331,  437. 
Magie,  William  H.,  455. 
Magill,  Seagrove  W.,  329,  497. 
Maginnis,  Franklin,  174. 
Maltby,  Erastus,  451. 

Isaac,  325,  451. 

John,  451. 

Jonathan,  325,  451. 
Mann,  Joel,  145,  219,  396,  487. 
Mansfield,  Achilles,  144,  324,  363,  437. 

Zebadiah  (Zed.)  H.,  459. 
Manwaring,  William  H.,  157. 


March,  Daniel,  303,  361. 

D  wight  W.,  157. 
Marcussohn,  J.  W.,  309. 
Marsh,  Abrani,  489. 

Cyrus,  412,  464. 

Daniel,  44-1. 

Ebenezer  G.,  325. 

Klihu,  254. 

Ezekiel,  329,  382. 

Frederick,  292,  314,  452,  509. 

George,  340. 

John,  144,  292,  506, 

John,   145,   205,  211    219,  220,  311, 
400,  468.  507,  519. 

Jonathan,  292,  434,  510, 512 

Justin,  309. 

Loring  B.,  330. 

Samuel  D.,  180,  330. 

Mrs.  Samuel  D.,  157. 

Thomas,  254,  338. 

William  II.,  457. 
Marshall,  Abraham,  512. 

Daniel,  512. 

Eliakim,  512. 

Joseph,  359,  512,519. 
Martin,  Benjamin  N.,  312. 

Ebenezer,  500. 
Marvin,  Abijah  P.,  334,402. 

Sylvanus  P.,  320. 

Sylvester  P.,  393. 
Mason,  Elihti,  171,  344. 

Elijah,  308,  362. 

Elijah,  311. 

Stephen,  173,  365,  417,  495. 
Mather,  Allyn,  437,  512. 

Azariah,  461. 

Moses,  292,  370,  461. 

Oliver  W.,  330,  512. 

Samuel,  354,  510. 
Matthews,  John,  171. 
Mattocks',  John,  326. 
Maverick,  John,  510. 
May,  Eleazar,  400. 

Hezekiah,  170,  401. 
Maynard,  E.,433. 

Joshua  L.,  834,  449. 

Ulrie,  370. 

Meacham,  Joseph,  367,  384, 
Mead,  Asa,  878. 

Darius,  326,  371,477. 

Ebenezer,  396,  397, 

Enoch, 397. 

Mark,  170,  293, 311,  392,  397, 421, 503. 

Zachariah,  325,  397. 
Meech,  Asa,  334,  358,  519. 
Meigs,  Benjamin  C.,  157, 180,  348. 

Mrs.  B.  C..  157. 
Mellen,  William,  326. 
Merriam,  Burragc,  324.  471. 

Matthew,  324,  (Merriman)   420,   494. 

Clement,  408. 
Merrick,  Jonathan,  143,  447. 


548 


Index  of  Names. 


Merrick,  Noah,  323, 
Merrill,  0.  W.,  309. 
Mershon,  James  R.,  330,  342,  373,  437. 
Merwin,  Samuel,  145,  146,  293,  325,  425, 
437,  608. 

S.  J.  M,,  146,  330,  425,  438,  480. 

Noah,  324,  373,  490,  495. 
Messenger,   Benoni   Y.,  370,  429,   462, 
477. 

James,  342. 
Metcalfe,  William,  339,  415. 

David,  Jr.,  340,415.  454. 
Miles,  Daniel  A.,  320. 

Edward  C.,  352. 

Milo  If.,  383. 
Miller,  Alexander,  255. 

Alpha,  342,  393. 

Daniel,  171, 

D.  R.,  174. 

George  A.,  306,  352,  393. 

Jacob  G.,  354,  408. 

Jeremiah,  329,469,  498. 

Jonathan,  292,  353,  490. 

John  R.,  487. 

Robert  D.,  309. 

Samuel,  166. 

Simeon,  308. 

William  F.,  170,  349,  473. 
Mills, ,  434,  508. 

Charles  L.,  37 2. 

Ebenezer,  293,999,  376. 

Edmund,  359,413. 

Gideon,  324,  359,  476. 

Jedediah,  143,293,297,410,512. 

John  L.,  320. 

Joseph  L.,  448. 

Samuel,  300,  362. 

Samuel  J.,   165,   200,  293,  318,  413 
489. 

Samuel  J.,  Jr.,  151, 157,  167, 172,  490. 

Samuel  T.,  319,  362. 

Sidney,  318,  359. 
Miner,  Daniel,  393. 

J.,  157. 

Jehu,  318,  (Minor)  477. 

Nathaniel,  353,    362,  393,   426,   472. 
485. 

Richardson,  491. 

Thomas,  293,  318,  499,  516. 
Minor,  Eastman  S.,  157. 
Mitchell,  Alfred,  318,  459. 

Colby  C.,  157,  312,  398. 

Mrs.  C.  C.,  157. 

Elisha,496. 

John,  362,  386,  437- 

Justus,  144, 165,  318,433,470,  516. 

William,  319,  362,446. 
Mix,  Joseph,  309,  438,  505. 

Stephen,  3,  436,  506. 
Moffatt,  James  C.,  437. 
Monson,  Stephen,  S96. 


Montague,  E.  J.,  174. 

Melzar,  309. 

Philetus,  329. 

Monteith,  John,  Jr.,  331,  488. 
Moor,  Joshua,  148. 
Moore,  E.  D.,490 

James  D.,  330,  363, 

J.  A.,  402,  422. 

Humphrey,  336. 

William    H.,    146,   147,  330,  446,  489, 

499. 
Morgan,  Asaph,  172. 

Charles,  175. 

Henry  H.,  174,  434. 

Josep'h,  395,  396,  398. 

Solomon,  170,  358,  398,  431,  448. 
Morley,  S.  B.,  330. 
Morris,  Darius,  383. 

Henry,  481. 

Myron  N.,  146,  334,  456,  500,  495. 

Robert,  395. 
Morrison,  Evander,  359. 

Or i gen,  384. 
Moselev,  Ebenezer,  403. 

Samuel,  293,  403. 

Samuel,  157,  330. 

Morse,  Benajah  Y.,  303,  434. 

Henry  C.,  340. 

Jedediah,  182,  325,  516. 

Joshua,  256. 

Reuben,  329. 

William,  465. 
Morton,  Josephus,  174. 
Moss,  Joseph,  372,  436. 

Reuben,  362. 
Moulton,  Samuel,  157. 

Mrs.  Samuel,  157. 

Muirson, ,  263. 

Munger,  Mrs.  Mary,  157. 

Theodore  T.,  320. 
Munsell,  Jabez,  336. 
Munson,  Amos,  324,  436. 

Frederick,  348,  380,  452. 

Samuel,  324,  437. 
Murdock,  David,  Jr.,  444. 

Charles  E.,  330,  402,  420,  499. 

James,  499. 

James,  499,  519. 

Jonathan,  353,  396,  499. 

Thomas  J.,  358. 
Murphy,  Elijah  D.,  360,  374. 
Murray, ,  278. 

Chauncey  D.,  320,  357,418,  440. 
Nail,  James,  174. 
Nash,  Ansel,  145,  349,  470,489. 

Norman,  383. 

Nelson,  Levi,  176,  292,  416. 
Nettleton,  Asahel,  189, 200, 214, 219,  329, 

401,  414,  427,  428,  473, 497. 
Nevins,  William,  334,  459. 
Newell,  Abel,  293,  308,  390. 


Index  of  Names. 


549 


Newell,  Daniel,  466. 

Gad,  311,479. 

Samuel,  144,  350. 

Samuel,  151,  479. 
Newman,  Charles,  490. 
Newton,  Alfred,  329,  365. 

Benjamin  B.,  329. 

Joel  W.,  365, 422,  460. 

John  II.,  312,  424. 

Roger,  324,  373,  387,  424,519. 
Nichols,  Ammi,  171. 

Charles,  372,  389,  410. 

Cyrus,  171. 

Henry  S.,  411. 

John,  329,  375. 

John  C.,  353,  414.  485. 
Niles,  John,  499. 

Milo  N.,  315. 

Nathaniel,  358. 

Thomas,  211,  365. 

William  W.,  173. 
Noble,  Gideon,  507. 

Oliver,  311,  367,  410. 
Nolen,  Edward,  417. 
North,  Josiah  W.,  331,  346. 

Simeon,  329,  346,  424. 
Northrop,  Bennett  F.,  347,  397,  418. 

Birdsey  G.,  330,  413. 

Henry  D.,  474. 
Norton,  Asahel  S.,  293,  311. 

A.  T.,  391. 

Charles  H.,  309. 

John,  377. 

John  F.,  146,  309,  391,  427. 

Seth,  318,382. 
Norwood,  Francis,  345. 
Nott,  Abraham,  360. 

Eliphalet,  293,  334,  343,  389. 

Handel  G.,  360. 

Samuel,  144,  145,  165,  293,  325,  360, 
388. 

Samuel,  Jr.,  151,  157,  389. 

Stephen  T.,  389. 
Noyes,  Gurdon  W.,  441,  485. 

James,  16. 

James,  2,  293,  485. 

James,  293,  303,  493. 

James.  352,  401,  422,  427,  493. 

John,  293,  303,    370,  395,  428,  437, 
470,  503. 

John  H.,  328,  329. 

Joseph,  120,  435,482. 

Matthew,  293,  319,  450. 

Moses,  4,  293,  461. 

Nicholas,  4oo. 
Nulling,  G.  K.,  309. 
Ober,  Benjamin,  506. 
Obookiah,  Henry,  160,  161. 
Occum,  Samson,  148, 149,  150,  157,  338, 

366. 
Ogden,  DavidL.,437. 

D.  S.,  479. 


Olcott,  Allen,  378,  387. 
Olds,  Jason,  17:}. 
Olmsted,  J.,  157. 

William.  499. 

Orton,  Samuel  G.,  318,  430. 
Osborn,  Benjamin,  417. 

Ethan,  311,  417. 

George,  379. 

Hezekiah  W.,  329. 

Isaac,  318. 

Sylvanus,  495. 
Osgood,  Thaddeus,  477. 
Otis,  Israel  T.,  365,  391. 

Orrin,  365. 

Orrin  F.,  334. 
Oviatt,  Alexander,  357. 

George  A.,  330,476. 
Owen,  John,  398. 
Paddock,  Elisha,  254. 

Seth  B.,  424, 

Thomas,  395. 
Page,  Alvah,  504. 

Benjamin  S.  G.,  355,  373,  451,  454. 

C.  F.,  392. 

Christopher,  334. 

Joseph  R.,  486. 

Thomas,  450. 

William  W.,413,  470. 
Paine,  Albert,  382. 

John,  342. 

John  C.,  336. 

Joshua,  465. 

Seth,  339. 
Palmer,  Anthony,  517. 

David,  293,  474. 

Elliot,  491,  504. 

Elliot,  Jr.,  493. 

John,  254,  293,  474. 

Marcus,  157,  484. 

Mrs.  M.,  157. 

Samuel,  517. 

Solomon,  355,  366. 

Urban,  175.  495. 

William,  428. 

William  R.,  309,  398,  416. 
Parish,  Ariel,  366,  415,  464. 

Elijah,  334,  366,  415,  464. 
Park,  Jason,  339,  503. 

Paul,  256,  293. 
Parker,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  157. 

Clement,  450. 

Daniel,  383.  496. 

Eliphalet.  334. 

Edwin  P.,  405. 

Henry,  157. 

Mrs.  Henry,  157. 

James,  171. 

L.  H.,  174. 

Melzar,  340. 

Oscar  F.,  174,  312,  481. 

Peter,  180,  329. 

Thomas,  2, 5,  16. 


550 


Index  of  Names. 


Parker,  William,  12. 
Parks,  Beaumont,  57. 
Parlin,  J.  B.,  174. 
Parmelee,  Alvin,  414. 

David  L.,  146,  316,  350,  417,  429. 

Elisha,  391. 

Linus,  219. 

Philander,  325,  349,  414. 

Reuben,  391. 

Simeon,  171. 
Parry,  Porter  B.,  383, 
Parsons,  Benjamin,  158,  181,  303,  386, 
510. 

Benjamin  B.,  309,  445. 

Elijah,  145,  293,  377. 

Henry  M.,  306,  377. 

Horatio  A.,  462. 

Isaac,  145,  146,  377. 

Jonathan,  199,  461. 

Joseph,  414. 

Justin,  172. 

Mrs.  J.  W.,  157. 

Lemuel,  373. 

L.  S.,  515. 

Samuel,  377. 

Stephen,  258,  424. 

William,  487. 
Patrick, ,  425. 

William,  336. 
Patten,  William,  405. 

William,  Jr.,  293,  334,  405. 
Pattengill, ,  358. 

J.  S.,  358. 

Patton,  William  W.,  406. 
Payne,  Joseph  H.,  175,  468. 

Seth,  482. 

Solomon,  254,  338,  359. 
Payson,  George,  339,  465. 

Joshua  P.,  465. 

Philip,  401. 
Peabody,  Charles,  343. 

Peale,  Aaron,  448. 

Calvin,  448. 
Pearl,  Cyril,  493. 
Pearson,  Buel  M.,  334. 
Pease,  Edward  M.,  306. 

Giles,  477. 

Lumas  H,  309,  352,  373. 

S.  H.,  378,  513. 
Peck,  David,  331,  370. 

Isaac,  397. 

Jeremiah,  395,  461,496. 

John,  397. 

John  W.,  430. 

Joseph,  300,  434. 

Whitman,  397,  448. 
Peet,  Stephen,  315. 
Peffers,  Aaron  B.,  434. 
Pendleton,  Henry  G.,  449. 
Pennell,  Lewis,  434,  503. 
Pennington,  J.  W.  C.,  406. 
Penny, ,  136. 


Pepper,  John  P.,  315. 
Perrine,  Humphrey  H.,  361. 
Perkins,  Edgar,  319. 

Frederick  T.,  334,  418. 

George,  353,  411. 

George  W.,  325,  420. 

John^D.,  165,  166,  334,  464. 

Nathan,  144,  145,  168,  185,  187,  293, 
308,  459,  500,  519. 

Nathan,  Jr.,  501. 

Samuel,  325. 
Perrin,  Lavalette,   146,   330,  390,  432, 

493. 
Perry,  David,  324,  408,  411. 

David  C.,  325,  434,  475. 

David  L.,  475. 

John  M.  S.,  157,  180,  315,  475. 

Mrs.  J.  M.  S.,  157. 

Joseph,  480. 

Joshua,  300,  411,  430. 

Ralph,  312,  410. 

Talmon  C.,  303,  357. 
Peters,  Thomas,  461. 
Peterson,  Edward,  362. 
Pettee,  Joseph,  473. 
Pettibone,  Ira,  366,  509,  513. 
Pettingell,  Amos,  429,  431. 

John  H.,  318,  360,  432,  437. 
Phelps,  Amos  A.,  476. 

Beriah,  418. 

Eliakim,  340,  410,  468. 

Royal,  169. 

Samuel  W.,  357. 

Samuel  M.,  470. 
Phillips,  George,  486. 
Phinney,  Barnabas,  340,  403. 

Samuel,  334,  358. 
Pierce,  Asa  C.,  450. 

George  (E.)  408,  478. 

Nehemiah  P.,  384. 
Pierpont,  Hezekiah  B.,  417. 

James,  7,  435. 

John,  430. 

Samuel,  437,  461. 
Pierson,  Abraham,  354. 

Abraham,  363,  395. 

Arthur  T.,  505. 

John,  293. 

Josiah,  414. 

Nathaniel,  455. 

Pigot, ,  263. 

Pike,  Alpheus  J.,  419. 
Pillsbury,  Ithamar,  174. 

Moses  C.,  212. 
Pinneo,  Bezaleel,  145,  293,  311,  366,  425, 

519. 

Pitcher,  William,  318. 
Pitkin,  Ashbel,  308. 

Caleb,  171,  314,  425. 

Frederick  H.,  378. 

S.  Dwight,  305,  383. 

Timothy,  143,  144,  293,  389. 


Index  of  Names, 


551 


Pitkin,  Timothy,  211. 

Platt,  Ebenezer,  300,  347,  370,  508. 

Eliphaz,  509. 

Dennis,  303,  347,  358,  397. 
Henry  D.,  320. 
Merit  T.,  318,  (M.  S.)  445. 
Plum,  William,  300,  311. 

Isaac,  390. 

Plummer,  Isaac  W.,  312. 
Pomeroy,  Augustus,  470,  481. 

Benjamin,  144,  199,  293,  409,  487. 

Jonathan  L.,  303. 

Lemuel,  309. 

Seth,  393. 
Pond,  Enoch,  843. 

Gideon  H.,  158,  496. 

Samuel,  496. 

S.  W.,  158,  318. 

Mrs.  S.  W.,  158. 
Pope,  Joseph,  339,  465. 
Popp,  Christian,  (Christopher,)  407,  442. 
Potwine,  Lemuel  S.,  38,  306. 

Thomas,  293,  380. 

Thomas  S.,  306,  381. 
Powell,  C.  H.,  417. 
Powers,  Grant,  390. 

Henry,  439. 

Peter,  416. 
Porter,  Amasa,  372,  410. 

Ambrose,  410. 

Calvin,  174. 

Charles,  459. 

David,  293,  410, 

Ebenezer,  205,  219,  311,421,473,  477 
495. 

Edward,  388,  461,  496. 

Experience,  814. 

Giles  M.,  334,  388,  394,  492. 

Isaac,  311,  388,  392,  519. 

James,  465. 

Lansing,  334. 

Micaiah,  334,  493. 

Noah,  145,  146,  151,  293,  387,  388. 

Noah,  Jr.,  184,  309,  388,  445. 

Reuben,  171,  309. 

Robert,  169,  336,  388. 

Rollin,  158,  477. 

Mrs.  Rollin,  158. 

Samuel,  311. 

William  S.,  388. 
Post,  Samuel,  389. 

T.  M.,  93. 
Potter,  Elam,  383. 

Isaiah,  324. 

John  D.,  371. 

William,  158,  340,  416. 

Mrs.  William,  158. 
Pratt,  Almond  B.,  315,  417,  449. 

Andrew  T.,  158,  181,  326,  346,  438 

Mrs.  A.  T.,  158. 

Augustus,  360. 


Pratt,  Edward  H.,  306,  342,  382. 
Fred-Tick   A.,  :;!'.'. 
Henry,  3<>6,  473. 
Horace  S.,  360. 
Nathaniel  A.,  360. 
Peter,  339,  415,  474. 
Prentice,  Charles,  318,  348,  357. 
Charles  T.,  315,  357,  380. 
Homer,  348. 
John  II.,  315. 
Oliver,  «57. 
iVince,  Benjamin,  318. 

Newell  A.,  347. 
Prindle,  Cyrus,  357. 
Cyrus  G.,  357. 
Lyman,  857. 
Proctor,  David  C.,  173. 
Prudden,  Job, 425. 

Nehemiah,  145,  324,  383,  425. 
George   P.,    221,  330,  421,  462,478, 

4'.i7. 

John,  519. 
Peter,  424,  506. 
Thomas,  145. 
Punderson,  Ebenezer,  266,  415. 

Thomas,  145,  169,814,410,438. 
Putnam,  Aaron,  340,  337,  465. 

Austin,  147,  4<rJ. 
Raikes,  Robert,  190,  191,  193. 
Ramsdell,  Hezekiah,  380. 
Ramsey,  William,  300. 
Rankin,  Samuel  G.  W.,  466. 
Rau,  J.  E.,  442. 
Rawson,  Andrew,  325. 

Grindall,  401. 
Ray,  John  W.,  470. 

Luzerne,  311. 
Raymond,  Alfred  C.,  349,  437,  462,  515. 
Charles  A.,  437. 
Moses,  Jr.,  318,  848. 

Read, ,  353. 

Charles  H.,  475. 
Herbert  A.,  489. 
Hollis,  372,  445. 
Julius,  481. 
Nathan  S.,  329. 
Reed,  Isaac,  172,  303. 
Julius  A.,  329. 
Royal,  309,  510. 
Reid,  Adam,  473. 
Herbert  A.,  502. 
Jared,  365. 

Renner, ,  407. 

Requa,  Mr*.  William  C.,  158. 
Rexford,  Elisha,  144,  165,  324,  428. 

Reynolds, ,  256. 

Charles  0.,  326,  378,  405. 
Freegrace,  336,  477. 
iVt.-r,  383. 
Tertius,  495. 
William  T.,  330,  502. 


552 


Index  of  Names. 


Rice,  Enos  H.,  175. 

Chaunccy  D.,  392. 

Thomas  U.,  309,  470,  502. 
Rich,  Alonzo  B.,  484. 

Charles,  312,  420. 

Ezekiel,  381. 

Samuel,  311,  351,  468. 

Thomas,  365,  498,  514. 
Richards,  Aaron,  324. 

Charles,  371. 

George,  330,  443.  • 

James,  293,  303,  433. 

James,  Jr.,  451. 

John,  293,  324,  452. 

John,  309,  388. 

SamuelT.,476. 
Richardson,  John  B.,  421,  431. 

Merrill,  318,  372,  488. 

Nathaniel,  488. 

Nathaniel  S.,  420. 
Riddel,  Samuel  H.,  146,  147,  (S.  A.)  390. 
Riggs,  Thomas,  172. 
Righter,  Chester  N.,  320. 

David,  339,  341,  474. 
Ripley,  David  B.,  336,  342,  416,  419. 

Erastus,  170,  219,  325,  351,  353,  376, 
391,  420,  429. 

Ezra.  517,519. 

Hezekiah,  145,  294,  301,  339,  394,474. 

William  B.,  303,  391,  395. 
Robbins,  Ammi  R.,   165,  294,  324,  355, 
447. 

Chandler,  324,  354. 

Chauncey,  499. 

Elijah,  158,  306. 

Mrs.  E.,  158. 

Francis  L.,  314,  383,  447. 

James  W.,  447. 

Ludovicus,  340,  344,  403. 

Philemon,  294,  322,  354. 

Robert,  311,  499. 

Royal,  145,  309,  412. 

Samuel  P.,  170. 

Mrs.  Samuel  P.,  158. 

Silas  W.,  331,  377,  454. 

Thomas,  145,  170,  294,  314,  447,  480, 

486. 
Roberts,  Bennott,  309. 

James  A.,  382. 

Nathaniel,  490. 

T.  E.,  345. 

Robertson,  David  F.,  309. 
Robinson,  Asa  A.,  474. 

Ebenezer  W.,  ix,  306,  403. 

Ed  ward,  3 11, 47  9. 

Henry,  380,  399,  429,  463,  487. 

John,  294,  325,  415. 

Ralph,  294,  474. 

William,  294,  297,  324.  415,  479. 
Rockwell,  Charles,  364,  405,  475. 

Elijah  P.,  415. 
[    Lathrop,  339,461. 


Rockwell,  Samuel,  433,  463,  513. 
Rockwood,  L.  B.,  146,  471. 
Rodgers,  John.  294,  369. 
Rodman,  Daniel  S,,  330,  361. 
Rogers,  Ammi,  389. 

Ebenezer  P.,  318,  386. 

E.  P.,  460. 

J.  A.  R.,  175. 

John, 283. 

Medad,  324,  431,  434,  451. 

Stephen,  451,  514. 

Zabdiel,  485. 
Rood,  Anson,  146,  369. 

Ileman,  444. 

Thomas  H.,  174. 
Root,  David,  361,  399,  496. 

Edward  W.,  326,  450. 

Miss  Emily,  158. 

Jesse,  311. 

Judson  A.,  447,  454,  488,  505. 

Marvin,  319,  368,  450,  481. 
Roots,  Benajah,  318. 
Rose,  David,  324,  448. 

Israel  G.,  503. 

Levi,  448. 
Ross,  John,  334,  443. 

Robert,  143,  144,  355. 
Rossiter,  Ashe'r,  467. 

Dudley,  334,  485. 

Ebenezer,  485. 

Rodney,  408. 
Rouse,  Lucius  C.,  367,  495. 

Thomas  H,,  466. 
Rowell,  Joseph, 
Rowland,  David  L..  300,  392,  463,  510, 

519. 
Rowlandson,  Joseph,  506. 

Henry  A.,  144,  145,  510,  512. 

James,  512. 

Jonathan,  386,  437. 

William  F.,  294,  464. 
Royce,  Samuel,  171. 
Ruggles,  Benjamin,  487. 

Samuel,  158. 

Mrs.  Samuel,  158. 

Thomas,  398,  399. 

Thomas,  Jr.,  49,  143,  322,  398,  399. 

Thomas,  329,  372. 
Rundle,  John,  454. 
Russell,  Abiel,  339. 

Daniel, 

Ebenezer,  456. 

Henry  A.,  326,  (H.  H.)  378,  387,  421, 
513. 

Jonathan,  507. 

John,  18,  506. 

Joseph,  339,  489. 

Noadiah,  7,  10,  423. 

Noadiah,  311,  436,  488. 

Samuel,  7,  8,  10,  354. 

Samuel,  354,  452. 

William,  143,  423. 


Index  of  Names. 


553 


Ku^.-ll,  William,  510. 

William,  330,  378,  47.",. 
Ruyter,  Hirnui   II  ,  315. 
Sabin,  (Salim.)  Abraham,  465. 

John,  (Salim,)  465. 
Saekett,  H.  A.,  329. 

Harvey  D.,  326. 

Richard,  396. 

Seth,  326,  431,  477,  495. 
Sadd, Joseph  M..  171. 
Sage,  Seth,  324,  359. 

Svlv.-st.T,  311. 
Salter,  Charles  C.,  326. 

John  W.,  353,  419,  428,  429. 

Richard,  418. 

Thomas  G.,  41!>. 
Siilstonstall,  (iurdon,  33,  163,  264,  442.  i 
Sampson.  (Juy  0.,  451. 

Hollis,  3:>9,*375. 

Jonathan,   174. 
Sanborne,  Pliny  F.,  376. 
Sandenwn,  Robert,  284. 
Sanders,  Alanson,  495. 
Sanford,  David,  444. 

David,  353. 

John,  173. 
Sands,  John  D.,  3.30. 

William  D .,  32ii. 
Sans,  Christian,  174. 
Sargent,  S.,  220. 
Saunders,  Alanson,  326. 

Stephen,  458. 
Snv  go,  George  S.  F.,  330. 

Thomas  S.,  181. 
Sawyer,  John,  294,  410. 

Isaac  G.,  318. 

Leicester  A.,  437,  440. 
Saxton,  Joseph  A.,  330,  383,  389,  435. 

Night,  Jr.,  311. 

Noah  C.,  396. 

Otis,  382. 
Scales,  Jacob,  499. 
Schemerhorn,  John  F.,  172. 
Schlosser,  George,  174. 
Scofield,  William  C.,  326,  370,  425. 
Scott.  Abraham,  169. 

Nelson,  407. 
Scranton,   Erastus,   294,   325,  352,  418, 

4t)'2,  514. 

Scudder,  Evarta,  413. 
Seabury,  Samuel,  266. 
Searl,  James  O.,  492. 

John,  474. 

Sedgwick,  Evelyn,  501. 
Seelye,  Julius  II ,  347. 

Laurens  C.,  347. 

Raymond  H.,  350. 

Samuel  T.,  300,  347,  514. 
Selden,  David,  145,  311,  422. 

E.,  220. 

Sylvester,  319,  409,  422,  468,  498. 
Selleck,  Charles  G.,  303,  371,  458,  470. 

71 


S.-renbezt,  F.  M., -107. 
Sergeant,  John.  181. 
Seropyan,  C.  T.,  li-jn. 
S.-p-h.iis,  • lo-.,  pli  W.,  360,  605,  506. 
Seward,  Dwight  il.,  146,  326,  373,  422, 
432,  500. 

Edwin  D.,  399. 

John,  172,  318. 

William,  144,  324,  373,  399,  413,  414, 

484. 
Seymour,  Charles  N.,  351,  352,  405,  410. 

John  A., 

John  L.,  158,  174,  498. 

Jonathan,  415. 
Shackleford,  John  C.,  439. 
Shailer,  Israel,  171,  319,  401. 
Sharpe,  Andrew,  340,  342,  471,  508. 

Benjamin,  507. 
Shaw.  John  B.,  480. 

Luther,  171. 

Peter  H.,  456,  485. 
Shedd,  William,  172. 
Sheldon,  Anson,  477. 
Shelton,  Charles  S.,  158,  180,  300. 
Sliepard,  George,  340,  464. 

Lewis  M.,  428. 

Samuel,  294,  311,  466,  519. 

Samuel  N.,  146,  417. 
Shepherd,  John,  455. 
Sherman,  David  A.,  329,  438. 

Charles  S.,  180,  330,  431,  432. 

Mrs  C.  S.,  158. 

John,  354. 

John,  Jr.,  275,  329,  418,  421. 

Josiah,  318,  390,  425. 

Henry,  325,  379. 

Nathaniel,  430. 

I:<><_'.T  M..  212,  386. 
Sherrill,  Edwin  J.,  329. 
Sherwin,  Jacob,  311,  410. 
Sh.-rwood,  J.  M.,  425. 

Samuel,  395,  412,  503. 

William  B.,  303. 

Shiprnan,  Thomas  L.,  145,  353,  411,  429, 
459,  478. 

William  C.,  158,  326. 
Shorer,  Seth,  369,  476. 
Slminway,  Columbus,  445. 
Shurtleff,  Roswell,  383. 
Sigourney,  Mrs.  Louisa  II.,  220. 
Sill,  Elijah.  475. 

George  W.,  402. 
Sillimam,  Benjamin,  344. 

Jonathan,  319,  362. 

Robert,  299,  862,  433. 
Simone, ,  395. 

Noah  J.,  431. 
Skinner,  Ichabod  L.,  294,  449. 

Newton,  377,  432. 

Miss  Pamela,  158. 

Thomas,  499. 
Slate,  Miss  Juliette,  158. 


554 


Index  of  Names. 


Slater,  Nelson,  174. 

Slauson,  Hiram,  492. 

Sleidel,  C.  F.,  442. 

Smalley,  John,  144,  200,   294,   318,  366, 

432. 

Smeaton,  William,  318. 
Smith,  Albert,  146,  326,  406,  492. 

Asa  B.,  478. 

Augustus,  346. 

Azariah.  180. 

Benjamin  B.,  318,  445. 

Charles  S.,  445. 

C.  J.,  150. 

Cotton  M.,144, 164, 165,  294,  475,487. 

David,  145,  173,  294,  353,  372. 

David  M.,  172,  373. 

Daniel,   144,  145,   294,  314,  433,  475, 
483. 

Daniel,  379. 

Deliverance,  300. 

Edward  A.,  326. 

Eli,  158,  173,  180,  451. 

Mrs.  Eli,  158. 

Elihn,  336. 

Elizur  G.,  373. 

Gad,  383. 

Gad,  2d,  383. 

George  M.,  320,  437,  471. 

Gilbert  L.,  303, 475. 

Henry,  506. 

Henry  B.,  342. 

Hervey,  482. 

Hiram,  175. 

Horace,  173. 

Ira,  474. 

Ira  H.,  318,  454,  497. 

Irem  W.,  326,  374,  440. 

James  A.,  (J.)  390,  492. 

James  M.,  406. 

Job,  318. 

John,  300,  417,  509. 

John  D.,  438. 

Joseph,  368. 

Joseph  M.,  305. 

Levi.  342,  355,  427,  445,  480. 

Lewis,  451. 

Matson  M.,  355. 

Matthew,  257. 

Matthew  Hale,  330,  437. 

Moses,  410,  464. 

Noah,  145,  173,  319,  477. 

Ralph,  366,  427,  433,  491.  514. 

Robert,  181. 

Rufus,  378. 

Samuel,  365. 

Theophilus,  146,  326,  433. 

Walter,  314,  413,  449. 

Wilder,  331. 

William  S.,  398,  496. 

Zephaniah,  468. 

Zephaniah  H.,  294,  311,  446. 
Smyth,  Anson,  318,  462. 


Snell,  Thomas,  336,  519. 
Snow,  Aaron,  330,  360,  376. 

Simeon,  172. 
Snyder,  Henry,  357. 
Somers,  Alvin,  383,  475. 
Soule,  George,  340,  343,  403. 
Southgate,  Robert,  506. 
Southmayd,  John,  294,  496. 

William,  324. 
Southworth,  Alden,  340. 

Joshua,  480. 
Spaulding,  Erastus,  342. 

Henry  "H.,  158. 

Josiah,  464. 

Solomon,  339. 
Spencer,  Elihu,  377. 

Franklin  A.,  435. 

John,  169. 

Levinette,  359. 

Seymour  M.,  158,  501. 
Sprague,  Daniel   G.,  171,  340,  403,  480, 
499. 

Isaac  N.,  406. 

William  B.,  336,  341,  342,  et  passim 

Pulpit  Annals. 
Spring,  Gardiner,  437. 

Samuel,  151,  152,  182. 

-Samuel,  147,  220,  378,  405. 
Sprout,  James,  294,  399. 
Stansbury,  Abraham  G.,434. 
Stanton,  Benjamin  F.,  348,  485. 

Robert,  398. 

Robert  P.,  330,  372,  397,  S89. 
Staples,  John,  337,  503. 
Stark,  Jedediah  L.,  334,  353. 
Starkweather,  John,  462. 
Starr,  Peter,  145,  294,  800,  495. 

Miss  Eunice,  158. 
Stebbins,  Samuel,  476. 

Stephen  W.,  294,  325,  486,  502.' 
Stearns,  George  I.,  309,  502,  510. 
Steele,  Eliphalet,  501. 

Julius,  348. 

Marshfield,  169,  336,  405,  501. 

Stephen,  143,  489. 
Stephens,  John,  444. 
Sterry,  DeWitt  C.,  353,  428. 
Stevens,  Abel,  267. 

Asahel  A.,  362,  421. 

Edwin,  158,  180,  326,  433. 

John,  318. 

John  H.,  358. 

Joseph  B., 

Solomon,  175. 

Thomas,  2o5,  464. 

Timothy,  889. 
Stewart,  Charles  L.,  159. 

Joseph, 
Stiles,  Abel,  339,  881,  512,516. 

Ezra,  184,  264,  412, 454. 

Isaac,  453. 

Joseph  C.,  441. 


Index  of  Names. 


555 


Stillman,  Timothy,  2<1,  311. 
St.  John,  John  R",  379. 

Jacob,  47 n. 

Oliver,  315,351,  470. 
Stocking,  W.  11.,  158. 

Mrs.  W.  R.,158. 
Stoddard,  Anthony,  294,  515. 

David  T.,  180. 

Judson  B.,475,  480. 

Simeon,  318,  3f>2. 

Solomon,  30,  481. 
Stone,  Andrew  L.,  318,  418,  424. 

Collins,  309,  373. 

J.  S.,  213,  220. 

Randolph,  173. 

Rollin  S.,  146,  326,  369. 

Samuel,  16,  18,89,404. 

Samuel,  476. 

Samuel,  506. 

Seth  B.,  159,  180,  418. 

Timothy,  294,  329,  366,  377. 

T.  D.  P.,  353,  389,  367. 

William.  325,  418. 
Storrs,  Andrew,  339,  419,  464. 

Charles  B.,  172. 

Cordial,  326. 

Eleazar,  339,  419. 

John,  419. 

John,  340,  397,419. 

Porter,  419. 

Richard  S.,  339,  419. 

RichardS.,  294,  5<J2. 

Samuel  P.,  :U'>. 

William,  169,  339,  500. 
Story,  Isaac,  318. 

Jonathan,  256. 
Stowe,  Phinead,  425. 

Samuel,  423. 

Stowell,  Alexander  D.,  515. 
Street,  Nicholas,  s.  2'.'4,  435. 

Nicholas,  144,  294.378. 

Owen,  334,  342,  371»,  515. 

Samuel,  41,  436,  493. 
Striker,  Isaac,  318. 
Strong,  Cyprian,  144,  145,  146,466,618. 

Benjamin,  484. 

David  A.,  422. 

Edward,  146,147,334,439. 

George,  459. 

Henry  P.,  473,  515. 

Jacob  H.,  422.  44."). 

Jedediah,  308. 

John  (.'.,  159,  309,  393. 

Joseph,  294,  339,  392. 

Joseph,  96,  166,  294,339,  450,  458. 

Joseph,  Jr.,  375. 

Joseph  D.,  309,  393,  503. 

Lyman,  364,  385,  409. 

Nathan,  294,  300,  449. 

Nathan,   166,  168,  278,  324,  404,  450, 
518. 

Nathan,  Jr.,  309. 


Strong,  Nehemiah,  376. 

Samuel  W.,  44<>. 

William  L.,  145,  325,  469,  473,  476. 
Stuart,  Moses,  182,  325,  436,  509. 
Sturgeon,  Robert,  508. 
Sturges,  Albert  A..  326. 

Samuel,  303,  347,  395. 

Thomas  B.,  330,357,  394. 
Sturtevant,  Julian  M.,  318,  495. 
Sullivan,  Lot  B.,  173. 
Sumner,  Joseph,  294,  465  519. 
Swallow,  Benjamin,  491. 
Swan,  Roswell  R.,  207,  309,  458,  485. 

Benjamin  L.,  308,  357,  386,  416,486. 
SweeVEdward,  330. 
Sweetland,  Eleazar,  426. 
Sweezey,  Samuel,  170. 
Swift,  Ephraim  G.,  346,  418,  462,  474. 

Job,  169,  358. 

Nathaniel,  Jr.,  495. 

Seth,  413. 

Warren,  172, 

Zephaniah,  294.  372,  472. 
Sydney,  Algernon,  136. 
Sykes,  Dorson  R,  326. 

'L.- \\isEdwards,  312,  326. 
Symmes,  Timothy,  426. 
Talbot,  Benjamin,  326. 
Talcott,  Hart,  145,  336,  363,  495. 

Hervey,  450,  466. 

Joel,  174,  309.    - 
Tallman,  Thomas,  312,  422,  474. 
Talmadge,  Benjamin,  437. 
Tapper,  Daniel  O.,  437. 
Tarbox,  Increase  N.,  381. 
Taylor,  Horace  A.,  312,  431. 

II.  S.,159. 

Jeremiah,  423. 

James,  299,  433. 

John,  339,  376. 

Joseph,  435. 

Matthew,  173. 

Nathaniel,   144,    163,  165,  294,   300, 
346,  444. 

Nathaniel  W..  145,146,  183,  184,  329, 
436,  439,  440,  444. 

Oliver  S.,  331,  351,  476. 

Reuben,  355,  491. 

Veron  D.,  429. 

Warren,  175. 

Teele,  Albert  K.,  318,431. 
Temple,  Mrs.  Daniel,  159. 

Josi  ah,  405. 

Tennent,  William  M  ,  394,  458. 
Tenney,  Caleb  J.,  145,  606. 
Terry,  Calvin,  384,  397.  487. 

James  P.,  309,  384,  454,  476. 

Samuel.  409. 
Thacher,  Peter,  121 

George,  330,  346,  374,  404,  420. 
Thayer,  D.  H.,  330,  439. 

Charles,  489. 


556 


Index  of  Names. 


Thayer,  Foster,  457. 

W.  A.,  159. 

Mrs.  W.  A.,  159. 
Thompson,  Alexander  R.,  357. 

Amos,  448. 

Amos  G.,  429. 

Augustus  C.,  309,  391. 

Charles,  472,  474. 

Edward,  475. 

J.  L.,  159. 

Joseph?.,  134,440. 

Lathrop,  388,  477. 

William,  146,187,  188,  391. 

William  A.,  312,  440. 

William  H.,  477. 
Thrall,  Miss  Cynthia,  159. 
Throop,  Amos,  516. 

Benjamin,  144,  339, 353. 

William,  339,  455. 
Thurston,  Asa,  180. 
Tibbals,  Green,  425. 
Tiffany,  C.  C.,  320,  372. 
Tillotson,  George  J.,  146,  318,  351,  388, 

468. 

Tingley,  Pelatiah, 
Tinker,  Reuben,  159,  404. 
Tobey,  Zalmon,  448. 
Todd,  Abraham,  396. 

George  T.,  318. 

Jonathan,  294,  417. 

Samuel,  294,  323,  464. 
Tomlinson,  Daniel,  372. 

David,  325,  445. 

George,  318,330,446. 

Gibson,  425. 

John  L.,  320,  372. 

Johnson  L.,  445. 

Topiiff,  Stephen,  325,  463,499,  507. 
Torrey,  Reuben,  875,  454,  455,  468. 
Toucev,  Thomas,  446. 
Town,'  Mrs.,  Elijah  S.,  159. 

Joseph  H  ,  355. 
Townsend,  Jesse,  165,  173,  336,  342. 

Charles  C.,  342. 
Train,  Asa  M.,  352,  425,  468. 
Tracy,  C.  J.,  452. 

Hiram,  416. 

Jeremiah,  256. 

Myron,  173. 

S.  J.,  449. 

Stephen,  459. 

Miss  Susan,  159. 

Uri,  836. 

William,  159,  460. 
Treadway,  James,  365. 
Treadwell,  John,  151,  152,  160.  168. 
Treat,  Charles,  390. 

Joseph,  172,  318,355,  444. 

Richard,  390. 

Salmon,  294, 395,  467. 

Samuel,  425. 


Trumbull,  Benjamin,  144,  145,  146,  163, 
166,  264,294,  339,  341,  410,  453. 

David,  3(55. 

John, 143,  144,  324,  487, 497. 

Jonathan,  339,  415. 
Tryon,  Gen.,  386. 
Tucker,  ,  485. 

Elijah  W.,  384,  391,  467. 

James  W.,  329. 

Mark,  492,  506. 
Tudor,  Samuel,  466. 
Tullar,  David,  425. 
Tuller,  Martin,  37-2. 
Tupper,  Martyn,  325. 
Turner,  Asa,  318. 

Caleb,  339. 

Douglas  K.,  404. 

Josiah,  473. 

Josiah  W.,  336. 

Nathan,  447. 
Tattle,  Anson  T.,  3H6. 

Timothy,  176,  239,  373,  398,  415. 
Twining,  Kinsley,  320,  437. 
Tyler,  Bennet.  146,  187,  188,  197,  294, 
314,  381,421,477. 

Charles  M.,  320. 

Daniel  C.,  401,  402. 

E.  R.,  147,  363,406,424. 

Jared,  453. 

John  E.,  336,  510. 

Joseph,  334. 

Josiah,  381. 

Lemuel,  145,  166,  325,  451,  467. 

Pnnderson,  398. 

Ralph,  420. 

Royal,  342,  472. 
Ufford,  Hezekiah  G.,  300. 
Underwood,  Alvan,  295,  491,500,  506. 
Upson,  Benoni,  412,  497. 
Urmston,  Nathaniel  M.,  366,  446,  475. 

Franklin  Y.,  355. 

Vaill,    Herman   L.,  161,  318,  379,  417, 
426,  427,  489. 

Joseph,   164,    165,   170,  295,  324,  401, 
417. 

Joseph,  319,  401.  476. 

William   F.,   159,  175,   181,  319,  401, 
452. 

Mrs.  W.  F.,  159. 
Yanarsdalen,  C.  C.,  365,  405. 
Van  Lennep,  Henry  J.,  404. 

Mrs.  H.  J.,  159. 
Vermilye,  Robert  G.,  189. 
Waddington,  John,  110. 
Wade,  Nathaniel,  357. 
Wadhams,  Noah,  :sl8,  391,  444. 
Wadsworth,  Charles,  309,  417. 

Daniel,  404. 

Henry,  449. 

Henry  F.,  318. 

John,  358. 

Samuel,  255,479. 


Index  of  Names. 


557 


Wakeman,  M.  M.,  495. 

Samuel,  27,  29,  385. 
Walcott,  Solomon,  349. 
Waldo,  Daniel,   170,  295,  339,  385,  403, 
•174,  505. 

Horatio,  145,  314,  397,  450. 

Nathan,  171,  858. 
Wales,  Eieazar,  339. 

Elenzar,  339. 

Samuel,  144,  182,  184,  425,438. 
Walker,  Aldaee,  437. 

Augustus,  181. 

Benjamin,  174. 

Charles,  34' >,  382,  510. 

Edwanl,  4:37. 

Edward  A.,  320. 

Samuel,  324. 

Zeclmriah,  486,  515. 
Walley,  Samuel  II.,  151, 152. 
Wabh,  Whitman,  324. 

Edmund,  399. 

Israel,  369. 

Stephen  1)..  H& 
Walton,  William  C..  406. 
Warham,  John.  18,86,  130,  510. 
Warner, ,  393. 

Isaac,  451. 

Isaac  W.,  173,  318. 

James  F.,  429. 

Noadiah,  800,  369. 

Pliny,  326,  (F.)  485. 

Wyl'lys,  318,  451. 
Warren,  Charles  J.,  358,  506. 

Israel  P.,  312,  347,  392,  430.  464. 

Waters,  440. 
Washburn,  Asahel  C.,  487. 

Joseph.  311,  387.424. 
Waterman,  Elijah,  145,334,  353,355,510. 

Simon,    144,    163,    165,170,295,353. 
4C.4,   4','4. 

Thomas  T.,  300,  357,  502. 
WfbK, ,  372. 

Joseph,  385. 
W  r).ber,  George,  517. 

George  N.,  405,  465. 
Webster,  Elisha,  357. 

John,  273. 

Weed.  William  B.,  330,  433,  458,  486. 
Weeks.  Holland,  169,  417,  465,  496. 

William  R.,  X52,  429,  473. 
Welch, ,  383. 

Daniel,  339,  455. 

Moses  C.,  144,  145,  165,  339,  455. 

Whitman,  444. 
Weld,  Ezra,  295,  465,  519. 

Ludovicus,  295,  403. 
Welles,  Elijah  G.,  309,  474,  493. 

James,  320. 

Noah,  ]43.  365,  483. 

Samuel,  3!>o. 
Wells,  Edward  P.,  320,  (L.)  464. 

Samuel,  414. 


Wells,  Thomas  X.,  329. 
Went  worth,  Gov.,  149. 

Erastus,  459. 
W.-ley.  John,  191. 
U  .-t.'St«.p|,en,  295,  297,489. 

Joel,  366,  :>77. 
Weston,  Hercules,  366. 
Wetherby,  Charh-.  44'.i. 
Wet  more",  C.  H.,  l.yj. 

James,  264,  453. 

Wttmore,   Izrahiah,  143,  311,424,486 
491. 

Noah,  298,  347. 

Oliver.  17O,  309. 

Seth,   424. 

Wheeler,  Elijah, 465. 
Wheelock,  Eieazar,  148,   199,  323,  365, 
510. 

James  R.,  358. 

John,  149,  366. 
Whelpley,  Samuel,  (W.)  480. 
Whipple",  John  X.,  343,  479. 
Whiiaker,  Nathaniel,  148,  295,  459. 
White,  Alfred,  392,  408,  410. 

Ebenezer,  299,  369. 

Enoch,  :«'.». 

George  H.,  306. 

JohB.466,  1">7. 

Joseph  M.,  300. 

O.  H.,421. 

Stephen,  295,  324,437,  510. 

Thomas.  349. 
Whitrield,  George,  53,  199,  298,  308. 

Henry,  398. 
Whiting,  John,  22,  24,  404,  405. 

JohB,  339. 

Joseph,  334,  361,  425. 

Samuel,  5O9. 
Whitman,  Alphonso  L..  146,  397. 

Elnathan,  143,  144,  388,405. 

Samuel,  387. 
Whitmore,  Roswell,  371,  397,  467,  502. 

Zolva,  452,  502. 
Whitnev,  Dewey,  173. 

Elijah,  475. 

Josiah.144,276,  295,  339,  351,464,518. 

Lyman.  173. 

Samuel,  159,451. 
Whiton,  James  M.,  331. 

Otis  C.,  S58,  474. 

Whittemore.  William  H.,  342,  446,  478. 
Whittlesey.Chauncey,  31 1,324,435, 494. 

Eliphafet,  433,473. 

Elisha,  159,  315,  413,  448,  473. 

John,  499. 

John  B.,  473. 

John  L.,  491. 

John  S.,312.  347,  374,433. 

Joseph,  345,  445,  485. 

Martin  K..  330,  442. 

Samuel,  11,  145,  493. 

Samuel,  425,  494. 


558 


Indp.x  of  Names. 


Whittlesey,  Samuel,  311,  430,445. 

Banraal  H.,  33o. 

G.  G.,  159,  180,  318. 

William,  174,  433. 
Wick,  William,  170. 
Wickes,  Henry,  326,  371,  398. 

John,  330. 

Thomas,  330. 

Wicglesworth,  Michael,  436. 
Wight,  Jabez,  295,  456,  467. 
Wightman,  Edward,  262. 

John  G.,  262. 

Timothy,  262. 

Valentine,  262. 
Wilcox,  Abner,  159,  408. 

Mrs.  A.,  159. 

Carlos,  405. 

Chauncey,  452. 

Ebtnezer  H.,414. 

Giles  B.,  443,  460. 

Jairus,  346,  369. 

James,  388. 

John,  174,  414. 

Martin,  414. 
Wilder,  John,  334. 

Wildman,  Benjamin,  300,  369,  444,  478 
Wiley,  Charles,  348. 
Willard,  Andrew  J.,  320. 

James  L.,  331,  418,  474,  505. 

John,  295,  420,  482. 

John,  144,  170,311,  405. 

Livingston,  456. 

Samuel  G.,  826,  508,  509. 
Willes,  Henry,  388. 
Willey,  J.  M.,  383. 
Willett,  Marinus,  349. 
Williams,  Abiel,  337 

Chester,  324,  465. 

Comfort,  172,  325,  494. 

Dillon,  330,  355,  365,  462. 

Ebenezer,  339,  465. 

Eleazar,  143,  418. 

Eliphalet,  295,  378,  415. 

Eliphalet,  Jr.,  378. 

Elisha,  442. 

Elisha  S.,  519. 

Francis,  349,  361,  375. 

Francis  F.,  309,  418,  427. 

Frederick  W.,  433. 

John,  375,  450. 

Joshua,  295,  311,  408. 

Joshua  L.,  145,  368,  507. 

Mrs.  L.  S.,  159. 

Nathan,  144,  295,  489. 

Nehemiah,  339,  465. 

Richard,  339,  351,  415. 

Robert,  450. 

Robert  G.,  146,  374,  515, 

Samuel  P.,  145,  418,  507. 

Solomon,  143,  295,  414. 

Solomon,  Jr.,  519. 

Stephen,  295,  339,  506. 


Williams,  Stephen,  450. 

Thomas,  170,  295.  339,  342,  376,  465. 

Timothy,  339. 

Warham,  162,  450. 

William,  172,  311,  507. 
Williamson,  Hugh,  300. 
Williston,  David  H.,  171,  329. 

Noah,  295,  324,  327,  602. 

Payson,  329,502,  519. 

Seth,  165,  Ifi9,  295,  336,  487,  502. 
Willoughby,  Bliss,  256. 

Jonathan,  Jr.,  506. 
Willowbe,  Jonathan,  400. 
Wilson,  Luther,  276,  337,  351. 

Milford  L.,  334. 
Winchester,  Elkanan,  278. 
Winslow,  Asher  H.,  325. 

Horace,  432,  470. 

Miron,  459. 

Mrs,  Miron,  159. 
Wisner,  William,  172. 
Witter,  Dexter,  173. 

Ezra,  403. 
Wolcott,  Henry,  130. 

Josiah,  311. 

Samuel,  128,159,  180,481. 

Solomon,  455,512. 

William,  175. 
Wood,  Elijah,  478. 

Francis,  507. 

George  C.,  172. 

George  I.,  146,  330,  357,  382,  399,  448, 
500. 

Glen,  330,  440. 

Luke,    173,  361,  363,  477,  496,  500, 
501. 

Samuel,  295,  419. 

Samuel  M.,  312. 
Woodbridge,  Aahbel,  143,  389. 

Benjamin,  513. 

Benjamin,  144,  324,  514. 

Dudley,  476. 

Ephraim,  334,  398,  443. 

Henry  H.,  448. 

John,  516. 

John,  363,  506. 

John,  466. 

John,  295,  314,  355,  434. 

Samuel,  311,  378. 

Samuel,  375,  390. 

Timothy,  5,  16,  390,  404. 

Timothy,  Jr.,  408,  476. 

Timothy,  311. 

William,  390. 

William  C.,  309. 
Woodford,  Oswald  L.,  344. 
Woodhull,  Richard,  386. 
Woodruff,    Ephraim  T.,    171,  336,  338, 
449. 

Jonathan  A.,  171. 

John  A.,  450. 

Jeremiah, 


Index  of  Names. 


559 


Woodruff,  Hezekiah,  334. 

Hezekiah  X.,  388,  485. 

Horace,  326,  388,  462. 

Lewis  11.,  417. 

Richard,  4u3,  429,  492,  501. 

Simeon,  17  "2,  430. 
Woodward,  Aaron,  329,  508. 

George  II.,  898,  482. 

Israel  B.,  498,  514. 

James  W.,  170,  309,  365. 

John,  3.  43,  458. 
Woodworth,  Amos,  339. 

Aaron,  334. 

Ezra,  366.  513. 

Francis  C.,  480 

Henry,  415. 

Henry  !>..  460. 

William  W.,  345,  357,  369,  438,  496. 
Wo-.lsey,  Theodore  D.,  84,  146,  184, 
Woolworth,  Aaron,  384. 
Wouster,  Benjamin,  165,  329,  477,  497. 
Worcester,  Samuel,  151,  152,  317. 


Worthington,  William,  456,  498. 
Wright,  Aaron  II.,  175. 

Alfred,  159,  173,  866,  404. 

Benjamin  B.,  4i>4. 

David,  459. 

Ebenezer,  375,  493. 

Edward,  .r>'n!. 

Kliphalet,  -200,  479. 

James  L,  326,  352,  300,  400. 

William,  33ii.  411.422,  464,  481. 

William  S.,  312,  344,  362,  390,  422. 

Worthington,  171,  51. ~>. 
Wyraan,  Ebenezer,  4',-U. 
Yale,  Cyrus,  145,  146,  309,  434. 

Elisha,  309. 

Thomas,  324,  494. 
Yatea,  Andrew,  145,  378. 
Yerrington,  Alexander,  809,  398,  467. 
York,  M.  M.,  172. 
Young,  George  D.,  176. 
Younglove,  John,  486. 


ADDENDA. 

Baldridge,  Samuel, 170 

Blair,  Asa, 412 

Boyle,  James, 440 


BOOKS    ON    CONNECTICUT    HISTORY. 

BY  DANIEL  C.  OILMAN,  TALE  COLLEGE  LIBRARY. 

The  following  list  is  intended  to  include  the  titles  of 
some  important  books  which  have  a  bearing  upon  the  ecclesi- 
astical and  religious  history  of  Connecticut.  Some  well 
known  works,  of  a  popular  character,  are  not  mentioned,  partly 
for  want  of  room,  and  partly  that  the  student  may  not  be  misled 
in  hunting  up  books  which  have  been  superseded  by  works  of 
a  more  recent  publication  or  of  more  complete  character.  It 
is  probable  that  many  anniversary  discourses,  and  church  man- 
uals, quite  as  important  as  those  which  are  mentioned,  are  omit- 
ed  from  the  list.  All  who  are  interested  in  these  inquiries  are 
requested  to  point  out  to  the  publisher  any  important  omissions 
which  they  may  notice,  that  the  deficiencies  may  be  supplied 
in  future  editions  of  this  list.  It  is  obvious  that  most  of  the 
books  illustrative  of  the  general  history  of  the  United  States 
or  of  New  England,  such  as  Bancroft,  Hildreth,  the  Historical 
Publications  of  the  various  Societies,  Biographical  Dictionaries, 
Family  Genealogies  and  the  like  cannot  be  here  enumerated. 
It  is,  perhaps,  worth  while  to  add  that  most  of  the  books 
and  pamphlets  which  are  named  below  may  be  found  in 
the  Library  of  Yale  College,  New  Haven,  or  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Historical  Society,  Hartford,  and  it  is  quite  important  that 
all  who  print  discourses,  church  manuals,  histories,  or  other  books 
and  pamphlets  illustrating  the  present  or  the  past  condition  of 
the  State,  should  bear  in  mind  the  importance  of  preserving 
copies  of  their  work  in  both  the  libraries  we  have  named. 

GENERAL  HISTORY;  including  Colonial  Records. 
TRUMBULL,  (BENJ.)  HIST.   OF   CONNECTICUT,  1630, — 1764,  (2 
vols.  8vo,  1818.) 

This  volume  remains  to  the  present  day  the  most  complete  work  in  ex- 
istence on  the  early  history  of  Connecticut.  A  considerable  portion  of  the 
manuscripts  of  the  author,  including  letters  addressed  to  him  by  persons 
in  different  towns  on  local  matters,  are  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Yale 
College. — President  Stiles's  manuscript  diary,  full  of  notes  on  ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs,  belongs  to  the  same  library. — Hollister's  History  of  Connect- 


Bibliography. 


icut,  ('2  vols.  Nvo.  is.-),*),)  is  brought  down  to  the  time  of  publication. — 
I'cters's  History,  sometimes  quoted  by  ignorant  persons,  is  never  to  In- 
trusted.—Dwight's  History,  (IRmo.  1841,)  was  meant  for  schools. — Dr. 
Palfrey's  History  of  New  England,  two  volumes  of  which  are  now  finished, 
(Boston,  1859-00,  8vo.)  discusses  with  liberality  and  fulness,  the  early 
history  of  Connecticut. 

TRUMBULL  (J.  HAMMOND,)    Colonial   Records  of  Connecticut. 

Three  vols.  8vo.— Vol.  1,  1636—1005,  (1850.)— Vol.  2,  1(165—1 077, 
(1852.)— Vol.  3,  1078—1689,  (1859.) 

HOADLY  (CHARLES  J.)  Colonial  Records  of  New  Haven. 
Two    Vols.    8vo.— Vol.    1,    1638—1649,    (1857.)— Vol.    U,     1«5:5— 1605, 
(1858.) 

CONNECTICUT  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Vol.  1,  (1860,  8vo.) 

BARBER  (JOHN  W.)    CONNECTICUT    HISTORICAL    COLLECTIONS. 

Second  Edition  Revised,  (pp.  594.    8vo.  1850.) 

BUSHNELL  (HORACE)  SPEECH  FOR  CONNECTICUT,  (pp.  32.  Svo.) 
LOCAL  HISTORIES. 

1.    TOWNS    AND    COUNTIES. 

New  Haven, 

Kingsley's  Hist.  Discourse,  1838. 

Bacon's  Historical  Discourse,  1830. 
AV/r  London, 

Caulkins's  History,  185:2. 

\nrir  if/i, 

Caulkins's  Hist.  1845. 
2d,  Centennial  "  Jubilee,"  1  - 

A.  15.  Chapin's  History,  1853.  (Jilman's  Hist.  Discourse,  ]s59,  2d. 

(ii'ii/iby  see  Simula i'!/.  edition. 

Greemrirli, 

Mead's  Hist,  pp.  318.  12mo.  1857. 
Hartford, 

Hawes's  Hist.  Discourse,  1836. 
Stuart's  Olden  Time,  1853. 
Hnnrinton, 

Chipman's  History. 
Litchjield, 

County  Jubilee,  Phelps's  Hist,  1845. 

Biography  by  Kilbourne,  1851.          }\'«ter1>ury, 
M(  riden,  Bronson's  Hist.,  1858. 

Perkins's  History,  12mo.  1849.  Windham  County  M in  inter*, 

Middlesex  County,  Learned's  Biography   of,  in  Cong. 

Field's  Account  ot  Qu.     Vol.  1. 

Middle  Haddam,  see  JJiddletoirii,          l\'indxi>>; 

Stiles's  History,  1800. 
Field's   History,    including    Crom-    Woodbnry, 

Cothren's  Hist,  1854. 


<'ii  a  ton  sec,  Si 
chut/mm,  see.  Middlttoton. 
Ci'<»nir<://,  KI-I  Middlctotrn. 
h'lixt  Jfiitcn, 

Dodd's  Register,  IS:!  I. 
l-'n  rni  in<iton, 

Porter's  Historical  Discourse,  1840. 


Hall's  History. 

' 


Hall's  Discourse,  1840. 
Portland  see  Middlctoir/i, 
Sharon, 

Sedgvvick's  History,  1858. 


well,     Chatham,    Middle    Haddam 


and  Portland,  1853. 


2d  Centennial  Jubilee. 


72 


562 


Bibliography. 


2.  CHURCHES. 


New  Haven, 

Benjamin  Trumbull's  North  Haven. 
Bacon's  Hist.  Discourses,  .  1839 
Button's  North  Church,  1842 

Fisher's  Yale  College  Church,  1858 
Cleaveland's  Third  Church,  1859 
Eustis's  Chapel  Street  Church,  1859 

Norwich, 

Strong's  First  Church, 
Arms's  First  Church, 
Bond's  Second  Church, 

North  Haven, 
B.  Trumbull,   . 

Durham, 
Dedication — W.  C.  Fowler, 


1823 
1859 
1860 

1801 


1847 


Altittf/toii, 

II.  B.  Smith, 
Branfofd, 

T.  P.  Gillett,    . 
Franklin, 

S.  Nott,       .... 
Newinyton, 

J.  Brace, 
New  London, 

A.  McEwen, 
Wallingford, 

J.  Dana,       . 
Weston, 

J.  Noyes, 
Windham, 

First  Church,  E.  Waterman, 


1855 
1R58 

1770 
1839 


1801 


3.    INSTITUTIONS. 


Tale  College, 
Clap's  History, 
Baldwin's  Annals, 
Kingsley's  Sketch,         .         .1835 
Woolsey's  Discourse,  .         .    1850 
Fisher's  Yale  College  Church,  1858 
Kent's  $.  B.  K.  Address. 


Silliman's  Alumni  Address,      1S42 

Sprague's  Alumni  Address,       1800 
Indian  Charity  School,  Lebanon, 

Wheelock's  Account  of,  1771-3. 
Cornwall  Mission  School, 

Missionary  Herald,  1816-27. 


PERIODICALS ; 

Published  in  the  State,  or  Containing  Important  Articles  Rdatinfj 

to  the  /Slate. 


American  Quarterly  Register,  Boston, 
1827—1843. 

Christian  History,  Prince's,  Boston, 
1743-4. 

Christian  Sentinel,  East  Windsor, 
1838-41. 

Christian  Spectator,  New  Haven, 
1819—1838. 

Congregational  Quarterly,  1859,  con- 
tinued. 

Congregational  Evangelical  Magazine, 


Hartford,  1800—1814. 


Congregational   Observer,    (Weekly,) 

Hartford. 
Missionary  Herald,  Boston,  1817-20, 

on  Foreign  Mission  School. 
New  Englander,    New   Haven,  1843, 

continued. 

New  Haven  Record,  (Weekly.) 
Panoplist,  Boston,  1802—1813. 
Religious  Intelligencer,  (Weekly,) 

New  Haven,  1817—1834. 
Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims. 


Articles  of  Special   Value. 


Review  of  the'early  History  of  Cong. 
Churches  in  New  England ;   Chris- 
tian Spectator,  June,  1830. 

Review  of  Hawes's  Tribute"  to  the 
Pilgrims,  by  Rev.  Joshua  Leavitt, 
D.  D. ;  Christian  Spectator,  Sept., 
1831. 

Review  of  Palfrey's  History  of  New 
England,  by  Rev.  L.  Bacon;  New 
Englander,  Nov.a1860. 


Religious  Declension  of  1750-1800,  by 
Rev.  Luther  Hart ;  Christian  Spec- 
tator, June,  1833. 

Separatists  of  Eastern  Connecticut, 
by  Rev.  R.  C.  Learned  ;  New  Eng- 
lander, May,  1853. 

Baptists  in  Connecticut,  by  Rev.  R.  C. 
Learned;  New Engla nder, May,  '00. 

Windham  Co.,  Ministers,  by  R.  C. 
Learned ;  Cong.  Quart.  1859. 


NOTE. — There  are  many  tilings  among  the  papers  with  which  the 
committee  of  publication  have  been  furnished,  which  might  to  ad- 
vantage have  been  added  to  these  Contributions  to  the  Ecclesiasti- 
cal History  of  the  State  ;  but  the  size  of  the  volume  has  already  be- 
come much  greater  than  was  anticipated,  and  they  have  been  re- 
luctantly omitted.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  all  important  facts 
respecting  the  History  of  the  Congregational  churches  in  the  State, 
which  are  not  to  be  found  here,  may  easily  be  learned  by  consulta- 
tion of  the  authorities  to  which  reference  is  made. 

It  is  hoped  that  what  is  here  published  may  lead  others  to  collect 
a  more  full  and  particular  account  of  the  churches  and  ministers  of 
the  State  ;  this  part  of  the  work  having  been  in  a  measure  sacri- 
ficed to  the  press  of  other  matters.  It  is  particularly  desirable  that 
all  the  historical  materials  that  can  be  collected  in  the  several 
churches  should  be  put  on  record  and  preserved.  It  would  be  well, 
too,  if  some  one  interested  in  historical  research,  in  each  Associa- 
tion, would  follow  the  example  of  what  has  been  done  in  Windham, 
and  persuade  each  minister  to  prepare  a  full  account  of  his  church, 
and  of  its  several  ministers,  with  statements  concerning  their 
families,  and  see  that  it  is  copied  into  a  book  provided  1>\  the  Asso- 
ciation for  the  purpose.  Future  additions  could  then  be  made  to 
the  record. 

It  is  requested  also  that  those  who  discover  errors  in  this  work, 
not  mentioned  in  the  ERRATA,  should  give  information  of  them 
to  Mr.  William  L.  Kingsley,  of  New  Haven  ;  and  if  it  seems  de- 
sirable, they  will,  either  under  the  direction  of  the  General  Associa- 
tion or  otherwise,  hereafter  be  given  to  the  public,  together  with 
other  historical  facts  and  statistics. —  Coin,  of  Pub. 


[The  article  on  page  560  was  attributed  by  a  mistake  to  Mr.  Gil- 
man.] 


A  RELIGIOUS  AND  SECULAR  FAMILY  PAPER, 

Is  the  Largest  Newspaper  in  the  World,  "PUBLISHED  WEEKLY,"  and  devoted  to 
.Religious,  Literary  and  Secular  Intelligence,  of  every  variety. 


ITS    MAMMOTH    SHEET    IS    SO    ARRANGED    AS    TO    CONSTITUTE 

C  O  M  3?  H,  E  T  EJ     N"K  \V  S  FA.  FE  R  S  ,  ^£3 

The  one  Religious  and  the  other  Secular,  each  of  which  is  larger  than  a  majority  of  its 
cotemporaries.—  IT  IS  NOT  SECTARIAN  IN  RELIGION,  NOE  PARTISAN  IN 
POLITICS  ;  but  designed  for  a  pleasing  and  instructive  companion  in  every  Evuiitrel- 
ical  Christian  Family.  It  is  thoroughly  conservative  and  opposed  to  all  the  disorgan- 
izing ism^  of  the  day.  A  large  number  of  the  f>e>tt  Writers  of  the  age,  as  Special  Con- 
tributors and  Correspondents,  in  all  the  principal  countries  of  the  World,  are  united 
with  a  full  Editorial  Corps  of  long  experience,  to  give  interest  and  value  to  the  paper. 

THE   RELIGIOUS    DEPARTMENT, 

Besides  its  Editorial  Articles  and  Correspondence,  contains  a  summary  of  the  most 
important  movements  of  all  Christian  denominations. 

THE    SECULAR   SHEET, 

In  addition  to  the  Foreign  and  Domestic  News,  lias  departments  of  Agriculture,  of 
Science,  and  of  Commerce—  the  latter  embracing  full  and  accurate  Reports  of  the 
Money,  Produce,  Cattle,  and  other  markets,  up  to  the  time  of  going  to  press. 

e  price  of  the  Observer  is  $2.50  a  year,  in  advance. 


To  every  person  sending  us  the  names  of  FIVE  NEW  ST-BSCRIBERS,  with  one  year's 
payment  in  advance,  ($12.50)  we  will  give  the  sum  of  FIVE  DOLLARS,  'which  may  be 
deducted  from  the  sum  forwarded  to  us. 

Address  SIDNEY  E.  MORSE,  JR.,  &  CO., 

37  Park  Row,  New  York, 

More  than  100,000  Copies  sold! 


-  OF   TRE  - 


-  AND  — 


CONGREGATIONAL  HIM  AND  TUNE  BOOK. 

OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  CONNECTICUT. 


By  an  arrangement  with  the  General  Association,  the  prices  of  the  above  have 
been  materially  reduced. 

The  Hymn  and  Tune  Book,  to  65  cents. 
Psalms  and  Hymns,  smallest  size,  to  42  cents. 
Middle  size,  to  62  ^  cents. 
Largest,  or  Pulpit  size,  to  87}«  cents. 

Either  of  the  above  will  be  forwarded  by  mail,  post  paid,  on  receipt  of  tlie 
price.  While  the  number  of  pieces  in  this  collection  is  about  the  same  as  in 
other  books  of  like  character,  the  price  is  but  little  more  than  one-half. 

PECK,  WHITE  &  PECK,  Publishers, 

344  and  346  Chapel  Street,  New  Haven,  Ct. 


WELLS  &  COLLINS 


, 


EMPORIUM! 

308  Chapel  St.,  New  Haven,  Ct. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC 
EMPORIUM! 

308  Chapel  St., 

NEW  HAYI;N,  CONN. 


Our  Establishment  was  the  first  to  introduce  PHOTOGRAPHS  in  New 
Haven,  in  185-i.  ~\\rc  are  now  the  first  to  introduce — in  perfection — the 
taking  of 


The  great  beauty  of  which  does  not  need  description  to  those  who  have  seen 
them.  We  can  take  Family  Groups,  or  Private  Residences,  or  Views  of 
Natural  Scenery,  and  warrant  them  perfect.  Also  the 

MEDALLION  CARD  PICTURES! 

One  Dozen  at  a  Single  Sitting,  for  $1. 

Also  the  French  full-length  VISITING  CARD  PICTURES—  the  neatest 
style  ever  introduced.  We  make  every  variety  of  Colored  and  Plain  Photo- 
graphs, and  our  AMBROTYPES  we  do  not  allow  to  be  excelled  by  any 
Gallery  in  the  country. 


WELLS    <&>    OOLLIISTS, 
No.   308   Chapel    Street,   New   Haven,   Conn. 


IHUi.YCE    WELLS. 


DAVID    C.    COLLINS. 


No,  240  Chapel  Street,  New  Haven,  Ct, 


3F        T  TTT\  T^        T^IQ^ 

.41  •  JlJUli*  4*v, 


We  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  all  interested,  to  our  complete  and  ex- 
tensive assortment  of 


EMBRACING  MANY  VERY  RARE  AND  VALUABLE. 

CLERGYMEN  AND  THEOLOGICAL  INSTITUTIONS 

Supplied  at  a  liberal  discount  from  retail  prices;  and,  as  we  give  special 
attention  to  this  department  of  our  business,  and  make  it  our  constant  study 
to  render  the  Theological  portion  of  our  stock  as  complete  as  possible,  we 
hope  always  to  present  unusual  attractions  to  our  clerical  friends.  Grateful 
for  the  liberal  patronage  bestowed  upon  us  heretofore,  we  assure  our  friends 
and  customers  that  no  pains  shall  be  spared  to  merit  a  continuance  thereof, 
and  by  promptness,  cheapness,  and  personal  attention,  we  hope  to  satisfy  all 
who  may  favor  us  with  their  custom. 

COLLEGIATE  AND  PUBLIC  LIBRARIES 

Furnished  with  all  they  may  require,  on  the  most  liberal  cash  terms,  and 
special  attention  given  to  collecting  for  such,  books  that  are  now  out  of  print, 
and  scarce,  yet  continually  desired. 

CLASSICAL  AND  SCHOOL  BOOKS, 

In  great  variety.  Professors  and  Teachers  are  particularly  invited  to  ex- 
amine our  stock,  which  is  always  large  and  well  selected.  Our  stock  of 

CURRENT    STANDARD    LITERATURE, 

As  well  as  MISCELLANEOUS  BOOKS,  including  all  the  New  Works  of  merit, 
is  immense. 

We  invite  all  to  give  us  a  trial ;  and  to  those  who  purchase  in  the  cities  at 
wholesale  prices,  we  promise  rates  as  low  always,  and  in  many  cases,  less. 

'ATRONISE  HOME  INSTITUTIONS,  and  save  your  TIME  and  MONEY  thereby. 


We  keep  always  on  hand,  at  a  great  reduction  from  the  retail  price. 

The  Latest!—  The  Largest!—  The  Best! 


1,854  Koyal  Quarto  Pages.  1,000  Superb  Wood  Cut  Illustrations. 

20,000  New  Words  and  Definitions.      1,100  Excellent  Articles  on  Synonymes. 

PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY  OF  NAMES  OF  EMINENT  MEN, 


THK 


J    ' 

<J-Xi^/.T 

'-P  AJL^LCE ! 

No,  314  Chapel  Street,  New  Haven,  Conn, 


BUTOY,  WILLIAMS  i  HART 


DBA.  M.  MOULTHROP, 

Take  pleasure  in  stating  to  their  friends  and  the  public,  that  their  fine  Estab- 
lishment for  the  production  of  every  style  of  picture  known  to  the  Art,  has 
already  gained  the  enviable  reputation  which  the  proprietors  intended  it 
should,  of  being  the 

Leading  Photographic  Gallery  of  the  State  ! 

Each  of  the  proprietors  of  this  Gallery  having  had  a  thorough  education 
in  some  branch  of  the  Arts,  we  are  thereby  enabled  to  secure  to  our  patrons 
the  most  perfect  and  finished  work.  The  following  are  among  the  numerous 
kinds  of  "  Sun  Paintings"  made  at  these  rooms  : 


From  that  of  Life  to  the  size  of  a  Postage  Stamp ! 

g 

ffl 


itiTwnraa'om1  mwrn 

iriMiiiiy 


(LIFE  AND  CABINET  SIZES,) 

Jn  (Stater  Colors,  pastel,  and  Jinelg  finished  in  <3fndia  Jnh. 


Elegant  Pictures  in  the  VIGNETTE  or  CRAYON  style,  by  an  entirely  new 

process. 

IVORYTYPES,    THE    REAL   THIXG-! 

STEREOSCOPIC  PICTURES  of  single  figures,  or  family  groups;  also 
STEREOSCOPIC  and  other  Landscape  Views  !  DAGUERREOTYPES, 
MELAINEOTYPES,  AMBROTYPES,  LOCKET  PICTURES,  &c. 


Remember  our  Rooms  are  over  the  Watch  and  Jewelry  Store  of  Mr. 
J.  B.  KIRBY,  314  Chapel  Street,  up  but  one  flight  of  Stairs. 


THE   NEW   ENGLANDER. 

The  present  is  a  favorable  time  to  procure  COMPLETE  SETS  OF  THE  NEW 
ENGLANOEK,  from  the  commencement.  These  are  now  becoming  very  rare. 
For  a  short  time  the  few  which  are  on  hand  will  be  furnished  at  rates  which 
can  never,  probably,  be  offered  again. 

COMPLETE  SETS  OF  THE  EIGHTEEN  VOLUMES,  already  published,  (from  184" 
to  I860,)  will  be  sold  for  $24.  (Express  charge,  except  to  some  address  in 
New  York  City  or  Boston,  to  be  at  the  expense  of  the  purchaser.  Sets  of 
the  first  FIFTEEN  VOLUMES,  with  the  exception  of  Jive  ninribcrx,  will  be  sold 
for  $13.  (Express-charge,  except  to  some  address  in  New  York  City  or 
Boston,  to  be  at  the  expense  of  the  purchaser.) 

Persons  who  now  have  incomplete  sets,  arc  invited*  to  correspond  with  the 
subscriber,  who  will  inform  them  of  tJie  price  of  the  nnmliers  and  volumes 
they  need. 

The  SEVENTEENTH  VOLUME,  (for  1859,)  1104  pages,  and  the  EIGHTEENTH 
VOLUME,  (for  I860,)  1150  pages,  are  offered  at  $2  each,  (postage  prepaid,)  a 
price  which  is  below  cash  cost.  In  these  volumes  will  be  found  a  fuller 
account  of  the  new  publications  of  these  two  years  than  in  any  other  maga- 
zine in  the  country. 

A  complete  INDEX  of  the  NEW  ENGLANDEK  will  soon  be  published,  (prob- 
ably during  the  year  18C1,)  of  the  writers  of  Articles,  of  the  subjects  dis- 
cussed, and  of  the  titles  of  books  noticed  and  reviewed,  which  will  make  the 
20th  volume  of  the  series.  Further  notice  will  be  given  respecting  it. 

Address  all  communications  and  all  inquiries  to 

WILLIAM  L.  KINGSLEY,  Editor  and  Proprietor, 

CONN. 


J.  H.  BENHAM, 

STEAM  PRINTER 

Glebe  Building,  cor.  Church  and  Chapel-sts.  * 


BOOK  AND   JOB   PRINTING 

IN    EVERY    VARIETY    OF   STYLE. 


This  Office  is  fully  supplied  with  Steam  Presses,  and  the  best  of  materials  for  printing 

Books,  Pamphlets,  Church  Catalogues,   etc.      Estimates  given  free  of  charge. ' 

Work  done  on  satisfactory  terms.    Prices  as  low  us  those  in  New  York, 

Philadelphia  or  Boston.    The  best  of  references  given  if  desired. 

Every  description  of  JOB  PRINTING,  such  as  Handbills,  Cards,  Circulars,  Bill  Heads, 

Blank  Receipts,  ftc.,  executed  with  neatness  and  dispatch,  on  reasonable  terms. 


oo 
=o 

S 


I 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


DKALIFOty* 


•ki    Si  \r%  ai  ir * 

S  W  I  rt       e=        J^  lYl       «== 


!/r>-t 


«*MMINIVER% 
£*   e^P?      £ 

Q 

I   3 


r^i         •"•  '"T^ 

f i $&h* 


